Posted on 03/02/2022 6:56:05 AM PST by SJackson
Authorities are searching for the person responsible for killing one dog and sickening three with ibuprofen-laced meat.
“A small amount of ibuprofen can be toxic, even deadly for dogs,” the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release last Friday. Authorities believe the strategically placed hot dogs, which have been found along trails near Pocatello, Idaho, are an intentional attempt to poison local pets. So far, the motive is unclear.
“It could be that somebody thought it was a prank, and it could be that it was malicious and they were trying to take pets out,” says Jared Fisher. Fisher manages public relations for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest’s Westside Ranger District, where some of the hot dogs have been found. He speculates that the perpetrator could also be frustrated about having to share recreation areas with canine trail users.
“We do have reports of [dog owners] who don’t follow the leash rules at those trailheads, and this might be retaliation of some kind. But regardless of motive, it’s a serious crime and we’re taking it very seriously,” Fisher says.
So far, no hungry or footsore hikers appear to have taken the bait, but at least three pets have been injured and one was killed after ingesting the toxic franks.
This isn’t Idaho’s first case of suspected dog poisoning. In 2016, ground meat mixed with strychnine-laced gopher bait killed a dozen working dogs in the Canyon County area. Reports of poisoned meatballs and hotdogs have also been surfaced in the Salmon Region and the Upper Sawtooth Valley in the past, as well as in eastern Washington.
However, Fisher says this is the first suspected case of intentional dog poisoning near Pocatello. Reports name four affected areas so far, including Mink Creek and Kinney Creek in the national forest, as well as Chinese Peak and Blackrock Canyon on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The last reported hot dog sighting was about two weeks ago, says Fisher.
Since losing her dog, a Labrador named Mudge, to a poisoned frank a few months ago, one Pocatello local has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a reward fund. The goal: To entice anyone with information about the poisonings to step forward. As of publication, the campaign has raised over $8,000.
While the Sheriff’s Office says it “cannot suggest or recommend donations to any reward fund,” it does urge locals to report any suspicious activity directly to the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, which is managing the ongoing investigation.
In the meantime, authorities recommend pet owners keep their dogs on leash on all trails where suspicious activity has been detected. And peckish hikers are advised to obey the five-second rule—at least in this case.
Validated the post previous to this one.
Barking up the wrong tree, numnuts. Unlike some FReepers, I have multiple hard boundaries and I defend them all with like veracity.
You have no clue.
I agree with you!
HOWEVER, there are far too many jaga$$ dog owners who do NOT clean up after their friggin mutt. In many cases, the only reason the dog owner takes Fuzzy for a walk is to let their dog pee and poop somewhere other than on their own property! Hiking trails are becoming a stinkin mess in my area because of the dogs!
On a hiking trail?
You might want to think that one through.
Look at the bright side, the article says no hikers have been harmed by eating the hot dogs lying on the ground.
Right. My wife is the same with horses.
We can be watching a movie - or even a real life documentary - depicting mass murder, genocide, or any other atrocity against humans, and she can keep her anger under control.
But if one horse gets hurt, she goes ape shit.
We apparently have some Kalifornia move-ins about 3 blocks from my house. I live on a cul-de-sac that is too hard for the snow plows to access. My neighbors use garden tractors with a blade on the front to push the snow dead center to allow getting around the edge of the street. The snow pile has been as tall as 15 ft. Currently about 4 ft. This busybody who doesn't live on the cul-de-sac called the city to complain. My wife took the call and noted the address of the party complaining.
If you leave Kalifornia for Idaho, leave your damn leftist, busybody behaviors behind.
We can be watching a movie - or even a real life documentary - depicting mass murder, genocide, or any other atrocity against humans, and she can keep her anger under control.
But if one horse gets hurt, she goes ape shit.
Our society has a LOT of people like that. I would really like to know how we got that way.
Resorting to name-calling. Basic liberal, leftist tactic. Now comes all of the veiled threats.
“We do have reports of [dog owners] who don’t follow the leash rules at those trailheads, and this might be retaliation of some kind.
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This is the reason for poisoning dogs that strikes me as most likely. It’s a hot-button topic. Some people (quite a few actually) seem to think keeping their dogs on a leash where it’s required on trails/parks doesn’t apply to them. So what have I encountered?
- snarling/growling pets (even had one jump up and nip me HARD on the cheek while talking to the owner - Rhodesian Ridgeback, off leash!)
- seeing unleashed dogs encounter each other on the trail & get into fights. Not only can dogs really get hurt, but owners trying to break up fights often are bitten
- dogs bitten by poisonous snakes (Timber Rattlers where I hike) or almost bitten - they run right up to the snakes & get bitten in the face. Vet care is not immediately available, often for hours out on trails - this is NOT a good situation to be in for dog/owner.
- seeing posters for lost dogs where they are often described as being “like our child/children” because they got lost in the woods while off leash on a trail. Being mostly “town” dogs or in unfamiliar territory, they easily get separated from owners/lost if they hit a deer track/hot scent or just go exploring.
- rescuing a very sweet Great Dane - obviously lost/bewildered & starving - had gotten up in some rocks and could figure out how to get down.
and I could go on and on .... seeing dogs off leash when laws/regulations require them to be on one & seeing dog owners putting other people, other dogs and THEIR OWN dogs in danger .... it REALLY pisses me off.
Would I put out poisoned hot dogs? Hell no.
Owners who let their dogs run often ‘pay the piper’ in painful ways - snakebit, dogs biting other people & getting in trouble, injuries/vet bills from fighting dogs, and potentially never seeing their beloved pet again when they run off and get lost.
BTW, when I do meet someone on the trail who has their dog leashed, I make a point to thank them. If it’s a particularly well-behaved dog, I compliment them on the dog’s behavior & tell them I appreciate their courtesy to others which goes over very well and usually has them smiling - they deserve the compliment(s).
Hiking trails are in the vicinity of feral hogs. The trails are easily accessible to the land owners. Why hike through thick brush and hard terrain unnecessarly?
I stand by my assertion.
By the way, I read a recent article on poison pills many state governments are considering using for killing feral hogs. The poison they are using is something as simple as sodium nitrite – the same ingredient found in bacon, hot dogs and beef jerky as a curing agent. In high enough concentrations this is deadly to the hogs. It’s a plan in the works.
There are laws that you can't booby trap your property for fear of hurnting or killing an innocent. How does F&G get away with that?
Disney. I.e., the disneyfication of nature/wildlife.
Her excuse is that horses are innocent - they had nothing to do with whatever war, or other man-made disaster they are caught in the middle of.
But that explanation doesn’t cut it. The same could be said of most human casualties as well.
I find the disproportionate love of dogs (and horses) to be goofy and irrational, but just to be clear - I don’t think it’s doing any harm.
People can choose which people they want to befriend, or which causes they want to fight for, or who they want to fall in love with. Nobody should have to explain their preferences or their choices.
Where I draw the line is all the hypocrisy - people calling other people’s choices to eat [xxxxx] meat “evil” or “disgusting”, while they sit there eating [xxxxx] meat.
Or people condemning any nation’s use of force to expand its territory, while smugly enjoying life in a nation that did the exact same thing several hundred years ago.
The local pets are actually just stray dogs if they were on the trails
Ditto cats. Cats away from home are astray and no pets
Or hang him high in a tree.
Im a Stockton Ca transplant from 10 years ago, now in Northern Idaho. Chances are that the poison is for wolves, which use trails a lot. Wolves are devastating the Elk and Moose population here. Then you got asshole Liberals who let their dogs and horses “free range” and destroy gardens, kill chickens and shit on your lawn. Liberals, no matter what state they are from, Fu*k up every place they live. They vote for more tax bonds constantly and want “services” to be provided to them.
Go for a walk or a hike. Ever wonder what’s in all those little plastic bags along the trail? They are full of dog $hit. Dumb a$$ dog owners make things worse than if they just took their pets 20 feet off trail when nature calls.
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