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Case ID: 17572
Classification: Poisoning
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Two dogs die from suspected poisoning
Port Norris, NJ (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Mar 11, 2011
County: Cumberland

Disposition: Open

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Post-mortem analysis has been completed on Hooch and Cuda, Michelle and David Jenkins' dogs that died in Downe Township on Feb. 11, and Dr. Bill McAlonan of Bridgeton's Wilwynn Animal Hospital is surprised by the results.

Autopsy, biopsy and toxicology results on the dogs' bodies and from meat reportedly found at the Dividing Creek-area site have ruled out strychnine, arsenic and cyanide and showed no telling changes to vital organs expected to be affected by the cause of death.

"I did physical exams on their bodies and autopsies, and nothing came up of any significance except the lungs were damaged, which could be consistent with inflammatory intoxication," McAlonan said. "Microscopic findings on Hooch showed pulmonary edema but no significant changes to the heart, liver or kidneys. Very disappointing."

McAlonan said tests were run for what was deemed feasible in conjunction with investigations conducted by the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CCSPCA) and NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife.

"Poisoning is so diabolical, and I couldn't think of what someone could possibly have gotten a hold of," McAlonan said. "But there was some old stuff, 1080 poison, banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1972 that sheepherders would put out to kill coyotes. We protested it in the '60s and '70s, and they took it off the market, so I just naively assumed it wasn't available anymore. Lo and behold, they use it in Australia."

The veterinarian explained that the Western Shield project in Australia drops chunks of meat laced with compound 1080, or sodium fluoroacetate, into the bush to control populations of foxes and wild dogs running loose and preying indiscriminately on indigenous wildlife.

"That means it's available, which is a very scary thing," said McAlonan. "The SPCA is looking into testing for that, and the state labs might get into it. Organophosphates and carbamates, insecticides, can kill animals instantly just the way these dogs' deaths were described, but I didn't realize that 1080 was available. They're used for farming and stuff like that, but then you get to using it as a lethal weapon...who comes up with doing this stuff?"

In her efforts to answer that question, Michelle Jenkins met The News on Friday at Dragston Road nearby the trail where her dogs were walking before exhibiting their fatal symptoms. Posts with remnants of former signs were visible nearby this trail, with legible private property and no trespassing signs posted sporadically closer to a yellow gate where Dragston Road meets the now closed Tom's Bridge Road.

Detective Dan Coia of the Port Norris state police was also investigating the scene on Friday morning nearby this yellow gate. Coia indicated that, from the closed Tom's Bridge Road, a large portion of the west side of the property is owned by MG Sons LLC, and the east side is owned by US Silica. However, Coia and Lt. Tina Arcaro, Port Norris station commander, reported that the Port Norris state police are not aware of a retired police captain in association with either owner who would have given permission for Jenkins to walk with her dogs or children on the property, as Jenkins claims.

"It could happen on anyone's property, but if there's an animal out there that ingests anything poisonous, we want to find out what source was, if there is a source, and what they ingested," Arcaro said. "We're looking at the facts and trying to get to the bottom of this."

Bev Greco at the CCSPCA is leading a parallel investigation and reported that, if a perpetrator is identified as having set out poisoned balls of meat, charges could include causing the needless death of an animal and torturing an animal, due to the manner in which the dogs died. According to Greco, these could be indictable offenses with the potential of jail time, but without further information on what transpired, charges and penalties are difficult to anticipate.

A $600 reward is being offered for information leading to the determination of what happened to the five dogs who died under such suspicious circumstances in the Dividing Creek/Port Norris area around Feb. 10 and 11.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the CCSPCA at (856) 691-1500 and Detective Coia at the Port Norris state police at (856) 785-0036.

If you have information on this case, please contact:
CCSPCA
(856) 691-1500

References

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