I clicked on the link, and that article (nothing else on the page) is grey lines rather than words?

Found the article elsewhere though.
Parsnips aren't poisonous, though eating raw isn't recommended. As there wouldn't be leaves at this time of year, I'd suspect the plant could be datura - the root looks similar to parsnip and is very poisonous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium

 

I read this on Facebook one dog died picture of him on Facebook can't add I'm on phone owner of dog said her 2 dogs started fitting one died

 

This is Toby, the pooch that was sadly killed on Tuesday after coming into contact with a plant on the beach at Cardross. Toby was out with his owner at the time and the other family dog Charlie was with them. Toby and Charlie came into contact with a wild plant thought to be known as 'poisonous parsnip'. The plant is highly dangerous to human beings, with previous reports showing how huge blisters and burns have appeared on victims arms and legs, leaving them in excruciating pain. The danger to animals has never really been highlighted until now. Argyle and Bute Councils Environmental Health team today said the plant wasn't washed ashore, but that it was found to be growing on the beach. Witnesses reported council workers at the beach today clearing up after Tuesdays incident where Toby and Charlie came into contact with the plant. After coming into contact with the plant, it was only 20 minutes later that Toby and Charlie started fitting, sadly Toby died, however Charlie has survived. Her owners friend said to Help2Rehome Scotland that Charlie is now back to normal like nothing has happened. Its believed that the plant must have been highly toxic for an animal to die from coming into contact with it. Its not known how long the plant has been growing on the beach for, or if there has been any other cases before. The area affected is Cardross shoreline. Authorities have warned members of the public to remain vigilant and to stay away from any poisonous plants. Children and animals should be supervised, if they come into contact with any weeds, plants or said 'poisonous parsnip', they should seek medical or veterinary advice immediately. We would like to thank Heather Craig for this photo of Toby. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time. RIP Toby.

 

RIP Toby, what a sad story.

 

RIP Toby, what a sad story.

Very sad we have been to that beach loads of times

 

This is a common plant in the UK and not just on beaches, they can often be found in roadside ditches, around sports fields and along railway tracks.
Users of Carmarthenshire parks were warned of the dangers of this plant last June. BBC News - Wild parsnip: Carmarthenshire park warning over dangers
Unfortunately the root tuber persists over the winter and I've known dogs that were used to getting things like parsnip to chew on dig them up and eat/chew them with disastrous results. It's never wise to allow a dog to chew on any vegetation unless you are certain what it is, including twigs/branches - think yew tree.

Su

 

I know not all dogs will listen when you tell them not to pick up things but this is the reason I'm so strict with Apollos 'leave it' and 'away' commands because I don't want him picking things up or trying to eat them, though most of the time if he finds something other dogs would probably try to eat or roll in he will just pee on it. there was the thing about those fat balls or whatever they were washing up on beaches and poisoning dogs too.

I suppose I'm pretty lucky that Apollos extremely fussy when it comes to eating anything, he even ignored the dead seagull on the beach this morning just sniffed it and peed on it while the majority of other owners had to drag there dogs away :lol:

 

I've heard a few stories like this luckily never had a dog effected by anything. A few years back I took my last dog to training and we were advised to keep dogs on lead just in case the were any poisonous plant nearby. Sadly anything dogs could pick up could be poisoned. You do sometimes hear of sick people deliberately leaving food on floor that has been poisoned. Thankfully not often, but I try not to let my dog eat anything he finds on walks. Even taking food from his mouth odd times. I know he won't turn on me and I do feed him treats and stuff after things I know are safe for him to eat.

 

'Deadly' plant identified | Helensburgh & Lomond | News | Helensburgh Advertiser