Poison shock - Seven dogs die agonising death
2008-04-30
Lise Beyers
THE stench of rotting flesh hung over Paarl North hours after seven dogs had been ruthlessly poisoned, allegedly by a neighbour. Residents of municipal flats La Uva, were shocked to see these dogs drop dead one after the other on Friday morning. According to reports, the poisoning had started on Thursday evening when a dog was found fighting for its life. Barendine van Wyk who had been walking her dog, came accross the sick animal while walking her pooch. “I immediately called the owners, and they rushed Whisky to the vet, where he was successfully treated for poisoning. “I then informed other dog owners that we had a possible case of poisoning on our hands. I immediately locked my poodle inside and am relieved that she didn’t eat anything which was lying around outside. “We are like one big family here and love our animals very much.” But Bianca Lochner, the owner of a beautiful basset hound, Sloopy, was not so lucky. “Sloopy was everybody’s friend and when I wanted to bring him inside on Thursday evening, he was nowhere to be seen. “My friends and I looked all over for him and it was very strange that he didn’t respond to my calls. “The next morning I looked for him again and eventually found his body in a vineyard adjacent to our flats.” Soon after this another four dogs of La Uva died one after the other. Later that day another two died. And now residents are up in arms, pointing fingers at the occupant of a house opposite the flats on the corner of Moederkappie Street. “We have never had any pro- blems with our pets, but ever since new residents moved here three months ago, our dogs have been abused and attacked with stones. “The sixth dog died shortly after it came out of that property.” According to reports, the owner breeds Jack Russell dogs, and every time his bitch comes on heat, male dogs in the area are attracted by the scent. When confronted about the poisoning, the owner allegedly said that his dogs had also been poisoned, but on further investigation, it was discovered that his two Jack Russells had been taken to the SPCA for extermination. After the death of the dogs on Friday morning, traces of what looks like ant poison was found on various objects around La Uva. These were removed and will be investigated by police. A local veterinary surgeon said that poisoning is one of the cruellest ways of killing an animal. “It is not an instant death and can cause prolonged agony for the animal, until it eventually dies.” Autopsies will be performed on the bodies of the dead dogs to determine the exact cause of death, and hereafter a criminal case will be investigated. “But,” warn residents, “we are not going to be left in the dark about this matter. The culprit must pay for these cruel deaths and we will get revenge for the agony that our animals had to endure.” A spokesperson of the SPCA, Linda Groenewald, urges the public to have their dogs spayed or neutered: “This simple process will solve many problems between disgruntled neighbours.” The SPCA will assist those who are unable to afford the usual veterinary fees. They can be contacted at 021-863-2720 in Paarl and 021-864-3726 in Wellington.
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