Dogs possibly poisoned
Rockwood Park, NB (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Canadian police are seeking a Calais, Maine, area woman whose dog mysteriously died over the weekend after swimming in one of the lakes at Rockwood Park in the heart of the city.
Health officials have closed Lily Lake and the Fisher Lakes after three dogs died over the weekend. City officials said the lakes would remain closed to public swimming and to pets until the mystery is solved.
According to a June 15 Canadian Broadcasting Corp. news story, health officials are not ruling out the possibility that the dogs were deliberately poisoned. "Though it's also possible they consumed deadly algae from one of the lakes in the park," the news story said.
"A young collie-mixed breed died within 20 minutes of taking a dip in one of the lakes on Friday night," the CBC said. "The next day, a German pointer died after swimming in the area. And on Sunday, an Australian cattle dog died in the park, though it wasn't clear if it had come in contact with the water."
Saint John police Officer Rick Russell said Thursday that the deaths appeared related. "All of the deaths ... were of an unusual nature in that they were convulsive, rapid, and they were dead in a short time frame, within an hour of entering the park," the officer said.
Police have spoken with one dog owner. A second dog owner lives in Ontario, and police are tracking him down. "The third person, whose first name all we know is Carol [and who reportedly lives in the Calais area], had a collie mix. She was in the Lily Lake area of Rockwood Park," the officer said. "She took the dog for a walk. Shortly thereafter she was at the Reversing Falls Restaurant. From what I understand, the dog went into seizures and died. I don't know who she is. I don't know where she is, but I need to talk with her."
He said police had her first name because she had called an official with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to report the incident.
Russell said they need to talk with her to aid the investigation. She may be able to help, because one dog owner had his dog cremated.
If the woman buried her dog, Russell said, police might be able to exhume it. "That's an extreme issue, but it would serve the bigger picture in terms of public health. Is there a danger to humans? Is there a danger to other pets? Will it happen again?" he asked.
For Saint John, the officer said, it is both a safety and a public health issue. "Are we looking at a biotoxin in the water?" he asked. "Or are we looking at someone doing something deliberate and criminal, as far as planting some poison? There are a whole host of things we have to rule out, and she is a piece of the puzzle and I need to talk to her."
Janet Foster, executive director of the Saint John Animal Rescue League, told the CBC that one owner was so upset he tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save his dog. "He tried everything on this dog to bring it back," Foster said. "This man was really, really distraught. It was just such a sad thing to experience."
Experts from the National Research Council in Halifax, the CBC said, will conduct a series of tests on the lake water in the park. "It could take two or three weeks for the results to come back," the news story said.
Russell asked that the woman call him in Saint John at (506) 648-3366. References
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