Police dog poisoned with antifreeze
Glassport, PA (US)Incident Date: Monday, Sep 14, 2009
County: Allegheny
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Glassport police dog is undergoing dialysis after someone tried to poison him with anti-freeze.
Zen is a two-year-old German Shepherd.
Police believe someone hurled a rag soaked with anti-freeze into his cage Monday morning.
"I came out about quarter after eight to take my kids to school and came up past the dog's cage and dropped them off," Deputy Chief Shawn Deverse said. "About 15 minutes later when I was coming home, I noticed a rag on the far corner of the cage there -- it was kind of hanging in, dripping down."
Deverse says Zen has worked with him and lived with his family for more than a year and a half.
"I've never had any problems -- even people on the street -- I've never had anybody threaten the dog," he said. "I'm clueless."
Dr. Merilee Costello of Avets Animal Hospital in Monroeville says Deverse's quick-thinking -- rushing Zen to the hospital - likely saved the dog's life.
"It's really, really important because if you don't catch it within the first six to eight hours after they've ingested the anti-freeze, it can cause some almost uniformly fatal kidney failure," Costello said.
Zen is going through several hours of dialysis and is expected to be OK.
"[He's] part of my family. They've made an attack on the police department, they violated my privacy -- they came to my home as well," Deverse said. "That concerns me and hopefully it will be dealt with."
The person who poisoned Zen could face serious charges.
Case UpdatesAn arrest was made Friday night in the September poisoning of a Glassport police dog.
Dustin Rivera, 23, was arrested inside his Indiana Avenue home in Glassport at about 10 p.m.
In September, Glassport Deputy Police Chief Shawn Deverse woke up one morning to find his partner, a German shepherd named Zen, had been poisoned.
Deverse noticed Zen was acting strangely and, when he took a closer look at the dog’s outdoor kennel Deverse found a green puddle of anti-freeze and a rag hanging over the dog's fence.
Deverse said he called a veterinarian and they tested the dog’s blood for toxins. The results showed that Zen had consumed a high level of toxic chemicals.
After undergoing treatment and dialysis at AVETS in Monroeville, Zen recovered and was able to return home with Deverse.
Rivera is being held in the Allegheny County Jail and faces charges of poisoning a police animal, cruelty to animals, simple trespassing and loitering and prowling.
Glassport police said a motive for poisoning the dog has not been determined. | Source: The Pittsburgh Channel - Dec 5, 2009
Update posted on Dec 6, 2009 - 6:11PM |
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