Several cats and dogs poisoned with Warferin
Inglewood, AB (CA)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 5, 2008
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
At least seven otherwise healthy dogs and cats have died suddenly in Inglewood, sparking fears among area residents that someone is deliberately poisoning their pets.
The deaths all occurred in the last five weeks within a radius of a few blocks in the southeast Calgary neighbourhood, said Inglewood Community Association vice-president Barbara Beard.
"People are absolutely horrified and haunted. They don't know what to do, if it's safe to walk their dogs," she said.
The phone has been ringing off the hook since the community association put up a large sign warning area residents about the possibility of poison, Beard said.
It all began with the death of Joan MacGougan's border collie, JD.
The only unusual thing she noticed about five weeks ago before she went to bed, was that her pet was lethargic.
Hours later, MacGougan said she woke up to the smell of blood.
She was devastated when she peered under her bed where JD lay sleeping.
"He bled everywhere, eyes, nose, everywhere. I tried to lift him, he didn't want to come out at all. I got him out and into my truck. He was dead, he was dead that fast," said a shaken MacGougan.
A veterinarian who performed a necropsy confirmed JD had died of Warferin -- a blood thinner commonly used as rat poisoning.
JD had only three legs, and never left the yard during the winter, said
MacGougan. That's why she believes the poisoning was deliberate.
Since then, four dogs and two cats have died -- all in similar manners, said Beard.
Although Elizabeth Soros didn't have a post-mortem exam on her Staffordshire terrier, Angel, she is almost certain someone poisoned the dog.
Five-year-old Angel fell ill at the beginning of April, and like MacGougan's dog, it hadn't left the yard in recent weeks.
"She couldn't stand on her feet -- she went for a few steps and would lie down. Her hair started coming out in my hand," Soros said.
When Angel continued to vomit and showed signs of getting worse, Soros took her companion to an animal hospital. Tests showed the dog's intestine had been eaten away, and the veterinarian told Soros there was no way to save Angel.
Soros, 69, made the decision to have Angel euthanized.
"Emotionally, it drained me so much. I wasn't able to call the police, I couldn't (turn on) the TV, the radio -- nothing," she said.
Other pet owners have called authorities and Calgary police have begun an investigation.
The area's alderman, Joe Ceci, said he is concerned about the possibility someone could be poisoning household pets.
"Having (a cat) myself, I know it would be devastating to lose one to a deliberate act," Ceci said.
"My heart goes out to the individuals who have been impacted."
Ceci praised the community association for warning residents of the spate of pet deaths.
MacGougan said she hopes that if poisonings turn out to be deliberate, the culprit will be caught before another animal dies.
"As long as everyone is watching and waiting for something to show itself that's really obvious, I'm really hoping they'd get caught that way."
MacGougan said she's devastated by the loss of her beloved nine-year-old collie.
"It's certainly not socially acceptable. You just don't do that." References
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