Photo by Mort Fryman / The Virginian-Pilot.
Posted on 03/13/2003 4:42:04 PM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
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| Lee Hendricks, left, with Marcelo Sanmiquel, is keeping a closer eye on her five pugs - Hombre, Heidi, Amita, Bridget and Daisy. Photo by Mort Fryman / The Virginian-Pilot. |
CHESAPEAKE -- A week ago, Janice Moore didn't think twice about letting her German shepherd Smokey play in the backyard.
Now, after five dogs have been discovered dead near her Deep Creek neighborhood, Moore is keeping a closer eye on her yard and pet.
``I think it has made people cautious, not panicked,'' Moore said.
As police investigate the possible poisoning of dogs in Chesapeake and Norfolk, Moore and her family are concerned.
``In fact, one day this week we had what looked like magnolia petals,'' Moore said. ``And I thought, `Where did those come from? We don't have any magnolia trees.' ''
Since March 5, at least six dead dogs -- five from the Deep Creek area and one from Hickory -- have been found in Chesapeake.
Two were found on Steel Street on Dominion Virginia Power property, police said. They were shot at close range in the neck.
Four of the dogs died from unknown causes, and their deaths are being investigated as possible poisonings, said Cheryl Sitler, police spokeswoman. Chesapeake Animal Bureau officers are awaiting results of laboratory tests.
Among those was a dog found Thursday in the 1700 block of Currie Ave. The dog was older than the others, Sitler said.
Police had received three tips through Thursday afternoon, but no arrests had been made.
Other dogs have have been poisoned or shot recently in Norfolk.
In a Northside neighborhood last month, a family's two pet beagles died after being poisoned by antifreeze-laced bread, police said. Someone previously tried to harm the dogs by leaving rat poison and shards of glass in the yard.
Then, last weekend, a Norfolk man was charged with felony cruelty-to-animals after police said he shot and killed a neighbor's black Labrador.
But in Chesapeake, pet owners await answers.
Patrice Hopkins, a Deep Creek resident, makes sure her three cats -- Skid, Skat and Junior -- stay indoors ``so nobody can hurt them.''
``I haven't really heard people talking about it,'' she said, ``but I hope they find out who's doing it.''
At Highlands Veterinary Center in Greenbrier, pet owners are not panicked about the unexplained deaths, said Dr. Samuel Springer.
Preventing dogs from eating anything tainted with poison is the best approach, Springer said.
``Otherwise, you have to catch it early to save them,'' he said. ``There is an antidote, but if you don't catch it until the next day, the antidote doesn't work.''
The first symptoms a dog will show if the animal has eaten antifreeze, for example, is vomiting and lethargy, Springer said.
``Then they can go into kidney failure,'' Springer said. ``It's a pretty insidious thing. Dogs can start to show signs within a couple of hours.''
Lee Hendricks is keeping a closer eye on her five pugs -- Hombre, Heidi, Amita, Bridget and Daisy.
``I'm always afraid, especially with the woods right here, that maybe somebody can throw something the yard, and I don't know about it,'' Hendricks said. ``That's what's really worrying me.''
Nearby, in another Deep Creek neighborhood where a dog was found dead March 7, neighbors are worried.
``I keep mine in the house,'' Elnora Edmonds said of her 5-year-old dog Tiger.
She said she has been living in the area for 40 years and had never heard of a dog being poisoned.
``Some people just don't like dogs,'' Edmonds said. ``Some people don't like animals.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
Also, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has announced a reward for information leading to arrests and convictions.
Reach Doug Beizer at 222-5207 or dbeizer@pilotonline.com
Reach Cindy Clayton at 222-5201 or cclayton@pilotonline.com
Dismayed hell!! I would load up and go hunting!
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