Vet Talk

My Neighbor Poisoned my Dog!

Malicious poisoning accounts for only 200 cases a year in the U.S.

Published: June 02, 2014


Of all the odd phenomena that I have witnessed in 18 years of veterinary emergency medicine, one stands out as perhaps the oddest and most annoying:  the unshakable hatred that many pet owners have for their neighbors and the willingness to blame their pet’s medical problems on them. Neighbors are a convenient scapegoat for all manner of ills – I have seen the my-neighbor-poisoned-my-pet phenomenon blamed for cancer, infection, autoimmune disease and a host of others. I have also seen a great many pets who were actually poisoned as well – but the poison was domestic, not imported and was ingested within the confines of the family home.

So what accounts for this? And does it ever happen?

To hit that last point first – yes, it does happen. It just happens with about 1/200th the frequency that people think it does. To hear some paranoid people tell it, the world is chock full of malicious neighbors wantonly spraying a panoply of toxins from giant tanks strapped to their backs as they wander the neighborhood. In truth, I have found it to be the case in only a small handful of incidents (perhaps three or four) over the years, but invoked as a cause in hundreds, if not thousands, of mysterious illnesses.

Malicious poisoning is a rare occurrence.

People loathe a mystery, and bad blood with a neighbor makes for a conveniently simple explanation when a pet becomes ill without an obvious, immediate explanation. It wraps up the story into a tidy package, and the roles of hero and victim become clearly drawn in black and white. The universe does not often give up its secrets that easily, nor do that many people stoop to the abhorrent act of poisoning an innocent animal. Again, it happens; we see stories of poisoning on the news and in social media all the time. It makes for great fodder, and gets people whipped up into the type of consumer-fear frenzy moral panic that the more salacious media organizations seem to feed off of, but it is a rarity. The ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center states that malicious poisoning accounts for only 200 cases a year in the U.S. While this is certainly significant and tragic to those 200 pets and families, it is less than 0.5% of all the calls the center receives each year.

As to why, I think it’s because people love the simplicity of the equation and it is near-impossible to completely rule out neighborly foul play (until you have a firm diagnosis that it’s something else, that is). I’m often asked “Doc, do you think my neighbor could have done it?” when dealing with a sick pet in the early stages before we have arrived at a diagnosis.

Think about that question.

It’s hard to prove a negative. In medicine, one of the worst things you can do is take something off the table prematurely when considering causes of illness. This cardinal sin of medical thinking is known as ‘premature closure of the differential list’ and it leads to tunnel vision and falling in love with the wrong diagnosis.

So neighbor as a potential cause has to be in there, along with cancer, organ failure, bacterial infection, mycotic swamp cancer and mites and viruses and all of the many things that can make a body ill.

So my answer to could the neighbor have done it, has to be yes.  Did the neighbor do it is a different matter entirely. The answer to that one is almost always in the negative.

But in order to be complete and thorough, we have to consider it. And just the fact that we are considering it tends to lend it undeserved credence in the minds of many pet owners.

How does it usually play out? 

Here’s an example pulled from real clinic files, more or less: A family brings their older German Shepherd named Bea Arthur in for an ER visit due to sudden collapse. One minute, she’s fine, barking like mad and running the fence line, the next she’s a limp heap on the kitchen floor.

In the recent past, the neighbors on the other side of that fence have been grumbling about some branches that have fallen from your tree onto their property, plus a whole bunch of dried-up apples have also fallen into their yard, and they don’t like the fact that the apples look like little scrunchy faces and it’s totally creeping them out and for some mysterious reason most of the faces look like the Golden Girls.

When Bea arrives at the ER, she’s in shock and the initial exam reveals an abdomen full of blood (a condition known as a hemoabdomen). When going over the possible causes of a belly full of blood, poisoning comes up, and sure as clockwork the question pops out of the owner’s mouth: “Doc, do you think those Golden-Girl-hating neighbors could have poisoned her?”

How would you respond to this? While it is surely within the realm of possibility, and the neighbors are proven Bea Arthur hatas, it’s the least likely cause on the list.

A little veterinary schooling and erudite investigation soon provides the true cause, and the neighbors are off the hook. If she was poisoned, it would have been with common rat poison, which causes bleeding, and Bea’s blood clotting times are normal. After some X-rays and an ultrasound, the news is not good: Bea has a cantaloupe-sized cancerous mass on her spleen that has ruptured and is bleeding. Hemangiosarcoma – 1; neighbors – 0.

Owners often want a panel of tests to determine just which toxin is killing their pet, and, sadly, there is no readily available, easily accessible and affordable test or suite of tests that can do this. This is another case of just too much TV in peoples' lives, as in the world of House MD and (for those of us with a touch of gray) Quincy, you just sent off a sample of blood, nails or hair and, as if by magic, a neatly printed report would squeeze out of the fax in about 15 minutes delineating just what exotic poison was laced in the snicker-doodles by the malicious old lady (SPOILER: It was arsenic).

You have to test for each individual poison one by one, a laborious and expensive process. Human pathology and toxicology labs may bundle these tests into sets for clinical use in people, but this is one area where pets get short shrift.

What’s more likely?

Common things happen commonly. Truly evil people are a rarity, and (perhaps luckily) most humans are lazy and would rather complain about a dog barking, maybe even threaten some vile action, than actually carry it out. So if you have the bad luck to have a pet with a mystery illness, put something bad perpetrated by a neighbor way, way down the list. Things like garden variety infections, the normal bumps and scrapes of everyday existence, even cancer are far more likely to be the cause of your pet’s woes than the loonies next door.

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41 Comments

Sara
August 31, 2022

When I was a kid, my great aunt (by marriage, not a blood relative) told me point blank that she poisoned her neighbor's cat because she "didn't like it"...  Another time neighbor kids found an open package of Gaines Burgers by the side of our road, very odd.  They were tested and found to be laced with rat poison.  Happily, nobody's dog had eaten  any.  However, I also know that by accident dogs can eat poisonous plants or step in car fluids like antifreeze and lick it off their paws.  Hard to know if poisoning is intentional or not.


Tina Brown
November 30, 2021

My dog was poisoned by my neighbor this weekend & died,but I can't  prove it,because I couldn't get her to vet,60 miles away-car broke.he has threatened to kill all my dogs before.when I first moved here,our 1st backyard conversation was him telling me how he'd  kill my dogs if they barked at him.7 yrs. Later,after I had to get privacy fence,because of harrassment by him,his dog suddenly is having seizure& cant walk & thirsty,so they "put her down,then days later,my dog is dead,too.this is an ex cop who got thrown off the force because of abusive issues,& now takes meds.hes a very big nasty man,& serious bully,& the town knows this.My Bonnie was a very healthy,playful,puppy-like 8 yr.old spaniel,who never had health issues,& loved her food,siblings,& everyone.she was even loved by my close friends,for the silly things she did,& she was just a sweet baby girl,& now over this weekend,she gasped for breath alot,ate nothing,drank lots of water,couldn't hardly walk,& died Sunday night.found her 5a.m. yesterday.now I'm  still trying to dig her grave in very windy cold weather,instead of watching her sneak food,or pick on her much older sibling,my sweet girl will never be in our life again.


RoxasIsabelaPH
November 4, 2021

Our neighbor threatened our neighborhood one morning that if he saw one of our dogs peeing on his car tires parked "OUTSIDE" his house, he will poison the dogs. And then right now our dog is experiencing gastrointestinal signs which also is an indication of poisoning. This is cruel if our assumption is true


Mohale
October 27, 2021

I was sick, and one morning I woke up and my 3 dogs were so happy to see me because I was indoors a lot (most of the time I would just give them food and go inside). An hour passed and I went to the kitchen to get something, only to realize my dog is dead outside my kitchen door. I whistled to call on the other 2 dogs and none came, I went outside and as I got to my vegetable garden another shocking sight, my other dog was also stone cold dead. I walked around the yard to look for the 3rd dogs; the bigger dog, and I couldn't find it. Both the dead dogs had foam coming from the mouth and their bellies were swollen so big, and so I proceeded to burying them thereafter. A few weeks later I discovered the remains of my big dogs decayed and rotten out in the bushes in my yard because I have a huge yard. All killed by the hands of my neighbor who had been away for a couple of months and had only been back 2 days when my dogs were killed, the same neighbor who had been stealing my chicks and chickens for over 2 years.


Tracy
April 13, 2021

It's possible that grieving pet owners are searching for answers to settle their broken hearts. Denial can be terrible. However, there are mean people in the world. 20 or 30 years ago someone was poisoning dogs in Oklahoma. My husband was one of the people whose dog died as a result. He was a child at the time & it broke his heart so badly that he refused to have another dog - until we met. I already had a dog. When I was a child, the family across the street had relatives over on Christmas day. One of the cousins had been given a bow & arrow for Christmas & decided to use our cat for target practice! Our cat walked up to us with the bow sticking out of her (missed vital organs & just hit her shoulder thankfully). My big brother said he saw the cousin near our front yard with his bow & arrow. We have reason to believe that our next door neighbor has poisoned 2 of our dogs. Why? Because when we met him, he threatened to shoot my husband & our dog, because one of our dogs escaped into their back yard one night! This was how we met him, after living next door to his Mother for 2 years & having no idea that he was there (he never leaves the house). Nice way to meet a neighbor you never knew existed! Our pets are indoor pets & we have a 6' privacy fence. They only go out for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Our Golden Retriever died suddenly just before Christmas, at 8 years old. One day she was fine & the next she was frothing at the mouth when she came in from our back yard. She lay down, and died. Pink blood was coming from her mouth & nose at about the same time that she died. It was so fast! She was the sweetest dog & everyone was her best friend. I just wrote it off as something very sad & odd & didn't immediately think that she was poisoned because why would anyone do that?!? She never barked or did anything to bother anyone. Then on Feb 10 I got a call from my husband telling me to hurry home because he thought our other dog was going to die! She was older (10) & we knew that one day in the near future it would happen, but there was no prior indication that she was sick. She was a Border Collie & my last BC lived to 15, so I thought we still had at least a few more years with her. He let her out the back door into our fenced yard to go to the bathroom, eat & drink. He said that she was following him around acting clingy, not moving around a lot, & then just lay down & went to sleep. He was taking to her & petting her, & she stopped responding. She also had some blood coming from her nose & mouth, & there was a tiny bit of pink urine too. He called me back 5 minutes later to say that there was no need for me to hurry, because she was already gone. 2 dogs in 2 months, with similar symptoms are suspicious. Like others, we could not afford to do testing to confirm it. The fact that he'd threatened violence previously is heavily concerning. We are looking into security cameras instead. We have a new puppy & we do NOT want the same thing to happen to her.


Monica Wilson
March 10, 2021

My neighbor is notorious for letting her dogs urine and poop on other neighbors yard.  I would nor harm any bodies pet but it would be so nice if ppl would be considerate of letting there pets ot.  Especially if you are growing food.  Please not there are many plants that may be harmful to pets too. 


Laura
January 11, 2021

I had a dog get shot by a neighbor and claimed he was attacked. The dog was very stranger friendly and I think him attacking is a little far fetched and he didn’t admit to killing the dog until the police got involved. Now, my other dog, has suddenly died of mysterious circumstances. She came home looking like she had been tied up with something after missing for 3 days and was dead in 24 hours. So I think it is reasonable to think that he got caught shooting one of them so now he has resorted to poisoning.


MetalFab
January 4, 2021

This is my first in all the years I believe a neighbor has poisoned my dog.  We moved in to our new lovely country house with our 13 year old Black Lab.  Not even 1 month after moving in he died in the neighbors yard.  We actually didn't know what happened to him until the neighbor came over and said, "you have a black dog?", "he is dead in my yard, I didn't kill him".  At the time we suspected he died of old age, but he was very bloated and foaming from the month.  However chocked it up to old age.  Fast forward 5 years and we now have 2 golden retrievers male/female turning 5 in a few days.  Our male dog became very ill and ended up having to be put down to due to poisoning.  Now I would say it could be bad luck or what not, but they are evil neighbors.  They have called the sheriff on our countless times for the most random stuff, no convictions, fines, or anything from the sheriff to us, the mostly would just say we have to come because they called.  They have also threated to kill our dogs many of times if they go on their property.  Wanna guess were he was 2-3 days before he died? Yeap on their property, where they were petting our dog, they threated to kill countless times.  Horrible people in this world!


Jessica
December 12, 2020

I dont know what planet you live on but the one I reside on is FULL of truly EVIL people. People who have no desire to be good, and feed off doing malicious things. My roommate called me telling me my dog would die hat night and basically admitting to and never denied poisening my dog because he was jealous and allegedly allergic to dogs after he also stole 600 dollars from me. He's one of those evil people.


Susan Escamilla
August 23, 2020

my dog along with my neighbors dog just died, the same symptoms!!  So sad.  You pay all that money for your pet for someone to poison them.


Karen Leigh Sanders
May 4, 2020

To accuse anyone of animal poisoning without evidence is reckless.There are animal cruelty laws in place however DAs  Sheriff Depts Animal  control must follow evidentiary procedures in order to convict.It ass you can imagine after taking an abuser dog for medical cre at own expense twice after having Lyme disease and he then agreeing to give her  to me as witnessed he later called Sheriffs depts. and denied after 2 yr battle Sheriff Dept said mine.He had 3 other dogs and that roamed always in my trash but not dogs fault he failed to confine even knowing that .One died a horrible death and own my property reported to Animal Control they failed to come .He found out.He was always coming and taking off my property without my knowledge.I later found her dead on my property.I was in shock and next thing the Sheriff Dept was here.He called and said I poisoned her .My own dog I spent literally thousands own.Why? He again claimed hi dog and DA didn't even investigate own records to see ownership Vet records proving his neglect and obvious get even for calling Animal Control I only did to try to protect other dogs.It turned out my attorney knew him and didn't present any pictures of them on my property and other going thru trash , Vet Bills Animal Control said they lost file of me calling of course because they didn't come but another Sheriff that came that day to file and later to arrest me said she did file with them.He had influence I had evidence I didn't and when came the Sheriff a jr of Sergent gave the body of my dog to him to do necropsy which was reckless and of course he didn't do as would proveme innocent despite no investigation my background records proving mine and I saved her I am awaiting trial.Do you see? There must be procedure to evidence gathering so men like him can be held accountable.Call Animal Control the body must be taken to Vet.In order to protect the animals we love keep them secure.Try to keep on good terms with neighbors and know who they are.I so thank the author of this article for giving facts statics and vital information.Dogs and people both deserve justice.


j
April 26, 2020

I found 2 dog biscuits coated with something near my yard (where I have walked him every night before bed for 2 years). Animal control can not do anything because they can not prove who left them or even if they are poisoned. They were clearly just left as they were dry and it had rained earlier. I still have the biscuits. What can I do? The other neighbors know as well as I who did this but what can be done?


Christy Corp-Minamiji, DVM
March 19, 2020

Hi Betty.  I'm so sorry about your son's dog. The police would be the proper agency to report to, but unless your son asked his veterinarian to perform a full necropsy on his dog and they found something suspicious, there's really nothing the police are likely to be able to do.  Also, as Dr. Johnson says in the article, it's far more common for dogs to simply die of illness or other natural causes than for them to be deliberately poisoned.  Often because animals tend to mask signs of illness, their deaths may seem mysterious because we haven't realized they were sick.


Betty Wilkerson
March 15, 2020

My sons dog died mysteriously he insists his neighbor poisoned him. Where and how do I or my son report this.


Maria Motto-Ros
January 8, 2020

Two days ago my two tiny yorkies were hanging around a box waiting for me to emply the car, they went everywhere with me.  I turned to look for them and saw lilly lieing flat as if she was dead.  I could not find the other one,  I rushed her to the vet and came back to look for Daisy.  ttook a while but I found her and took her to the vet.  I insisted on an autopsy but these Drs are not getting back to me.  I think they may have cremated them already.  I can't believe what happened..  It may be somebody trying to rob me, not sure???


Kevin
October 24, 2019

I don't know what to do. A neighbor around the street accused my dog of peeing on her bushes and that I was trespassing on her property. We were by the curb number one and number two, he wasn't peeing on her bushes. I said there are other dogs out here. She became nasty and started calling names. Unfortunately, I repeated those names back and kept walking away. She followed me. She yelled she is putting poison down for my dog to eat. I decided not to even go down her street. That weekend, I was walking a street away and her husband drove to where I was getting out of his van and yelling at me. He said I know where you live. I asked what he means by that? He kept yelling at top of his lungs. Another person walking their dog, started video taping him with his phone. He became more angry going after that person. I walked home. A week passed. I avoided their street. Then last night, a chicken thigh and leg with some kind of round cake  was placed neatly on the yard. About 5 feet away from that another plate covered with plastic wrap and something under the plastic was placed with more cake on the yard. As I walked my dog, he did try and go after it but I pulled him away. Now I am wondering if its poisoned food? I don't know what to do? Do I contact the police? I don't know for sure if its him or not. It was too neatly placed to be animals doing it.


Nancy
June 23, 2019

Well my neighbor did poison my dog. She was a very close friend who I visit 4x a week. We take a lot of walks together. I went to say "hello" the other day as she was out in the yard. As I was leaving I noticed my dog eating something. I as a joke asked if there was poison in the yard and yes it was. I am now up to my eyeballs in vet bills and she refuses to pay. Totally illegal for her not to have the poison in a bait station but somehow she thinks the onus is on me. From now on I am staying away from humans all together. People have no morals anymore


Patricia
April 5, 2019

My neighbor stole my dog off a chain and give it to his mother for. Mother day present she called me after I posted picture all over our area then my neighbor cut my dig off running and called the dog catcher now m8nd you I called the police each time useless the last time they took him they dye my dog black and thought I don't know my dog I called the police again he die 2 day later because of the dye so people are sick and it's a lot of them out here so it true that anyone neighbor will kill your pet not a indoor and was very health and loving it's been 3 year and I still miss my Bear.


Phyllis DeGioia
March 6, 2019

Sissy, I am heartsick at your cruel loss. Please take care of yourself.


Sissy
March 6, 2019

I agree that it is rare that a neighbor poisoning someone's dog is a rare occurrence. HOWEVER, it is something that does happen. In fact it happened to my dog Dash just yesterday. How do I know? I saw the antifreeze in his water bowl. a water bowl that stays INSIDE the fence that we keep him in during the day,so he could run around happily. we rushed him to the vet and got blood work done that showed that he was poisoned. Unfortunately he had to be put down.


Jimmy
January 14, 2019

Well, I've been accused of poisoning 2 of my neighbor's dogs in the past year.  Imagine a trash strewn yard, overgrown weeds, car parts and burn piles, with a motley collection of underfed, mixed breed "whatevers" with no tags or collars on them at all.  Freely roaming the neighborhood because their fence has huge holes and the gates are never closed, scavenging along the roadways.(I've seen several of them almost 2 miles away in the early AM. I leave for work at 5.)Kinda explains why there's rarely any roadkill on the shoulders... plus any trashbags or empty fast food containers are ripped into daily. The owners aren't in much better shape than their dogs. The local PD won't do much, living in a county with no leash laws and very lax laws on everything else. I've called a few times and been told "unless a dog bites ya' there ain't much we can do".  Basically they don't like me and I certainly don't like them. So whenever one of their diseased, underfed, abused "pets" die...guess who gets blamed?  Now, other dropped off dogs and a few cats have showed up in my yard, I've fed and watered them for a awhile until the local shelter can take them in or their photo in the local paper gets them adopted, but let one of the dogs next door get hit by a car or eat something bad... guess who gets blamed.  so maybe before people start pointing fingers at neighbors, go look in a mirror and think for a minute about the lifestyle of your dog.


Henry Rankin
September 1, 2018

A few years ago, my dog got very sick and I suspected my neighbor tried to poison her (he was also throwing over poison eaten field mice).  She just passed of cancer, a bit young and I am sure she had stomach problems ever since that he contributed to it in addition to old age, but he helped her live a shorter life.  Humans are hateful not dogs.


Morgan Lake
June 11, 2018

My hound Tucker was poisoned Friday morning by my neighbor. We have cameras on our house and on the video it is apart that Tucker was called over to the neighbors fence. Tucker, being a hound dog stood still for two minutes and pointed to where he was being called. When he does not know something or someone he holds very still until he feels comfortable. After the  two minutes of pointing and observing it looks as if someone was calling him. Later that morning, after he went to my neighbors fence, my worst nightmare began. Tucker started vomiting blood, nothing but blood. The first time he vommited it was a pink flesh tone color. The second time it was more of a red. The third time it was pure blood. He started to seize. I rushed him to the vet and while waiting in the room for the vet my dog was fighting for his life. He was puking blood again and this time blood appeared from his rectum. As of right now we have an open criminal case. Even though you can not see my neighbors person. It was his fence Tucker was called to and it was his fence that after he went to it Tucker started fighting for his life. I pray justice is found for Tucker. My dog is my family and my best friend. I am thankful he made it and stayed strong. (my grammar might not be the best in this message and I do apologize. )


Steph
May 22, 2018

Let my pups out one day to do yard work with my dad. I had 3, about 6 months old.1 male, 2 females.  They ran off to the neighbors, I followed behind but could not catch up, so I let them go, yelling for them to come back. Eventually all 3 came back, but shortly after they all 3 began having difficulty in breathing. The neighbor was an old man who never owned animals. But I assumed at first they were sick from something else. Until they began foaming at the mouth. Choking to death and died. I was only 7 and it ruined me for life.


Barb
October 29, 2017

My sweet 7yr old rescue baby Daisy was at the vet on Aug 25th for a check up, she had a few issues but nothing life threatening. Aug 26th we had a party and invited a few neighbors over. One of our neighbors has a 5yr old boy and they asked if they could invite another neighbor, they have a 8 or 10yrs old boy. The boys were wild and into everything. The parents did nothing to control these boys at our house. The next day my dog had some secretion coming out from her fur and her hair and skin were coming off. I sent pictures to my vet and he didn't have an answer for me, just thought it was related to possibly cushing disease. I waited a while to actually bring Daisy into the vet and by that time they had to shave her hair and her skin was black. Daisy was having all sorts of issues health wise as well. The vet had no idea what to do. I found a recipe online to wash the area with equal parts of antibacterial soap, apple cider vinegar and water. This contained the skin lesion from getting worse.. I took her to a dog dermatologist who said this was a sunburn. Daisy was still not getting better. She wasn't able to eat her kibble, I had to put her on can food and be very careful with her. The area that was supposedly a burn area had to be washed a couple times a week with some soap he recommended rather than my homemade remedy. He said for her other issues I'd have to take her to an internest. I made an appointment for a internest and in the meantime took her back to my original vet. He did nothing but say lets just wait until the skin gets better and go from there. Well, Daisy passed away on Oct 21st basically in my arms. She was the most precious dog that I ever had and my heart is breaking. I called my vet and asked him what happened here? We talked and he disputed that this was a sunburn on her skin. I started thinking back to the night those young boys came over and thought about what chemical sprays we had in our yard. My husband leaves cans of spider, scorpion and other sprays out in the open. I'm now suspecting that Daisy did not have a sunburn but got sprayed by the boys with one of our cans of insect sprays. I'm still having a very hard time dealing with this whole ordeal, on why the vet and the dermatologist did not recognize what was going on externally and internally and also if it is true that my neighbors boy sprayed my dog with insect spray and ultimately killed her. I do believe there are accidents that happen and also malicious acts that people do to animals. I'm going to try and find out if these boys actually did this to my sweet dog because I want them to learn this is not right to do to an animal. Also, I do not want them to grow up thinking they can harm an animal or another human as sometimes animal abusers do. Daisy did not deserve to die this way she was the best dog in the world.


mak
September 12, 2017

We did a lot of 4-H and lived in small town (under 1000 pop.) With an acre lot, with sheds and fences. Growing up, our neighbor shot one of our dogs, poisoned countless dogs and cats in neighborhood,including another of our dogs and one of his own. Our family vet and friend removed his stomach during autopsy, had it screeed at U of M and found sticnine. By the time they got back it had snowed and the dog tracks and human tracks that showed th dog had been enticed to follow fence line and just inside his yard. Because this evidence was lost, sheriff could not prosecute. Then i had problems with a neighbor,when we bought a lrge property with a barn and out buildings. (Again same town and 4-H),I cannot prove which one but in a matter of months our rabbits who lived in a shed were killed between night feeding and morning. Food was good as we shared with my brother from same bag, water dishes washed with soap and water, poison was suspected not proven. Then our cat survived a point blank shot from a pellet gun. It went through the front of chest, deflected off of ribs and out the other side near stomach. Then a 3yo goat died overnight. No autopsy.Then our 3yo german shepard dropped dead. We couldn't afford vet care at that moment of our family. So yes there are more poisonings then reported. More evil people then I was willing to accept. One growing up was enough. I thought people were generally good. I no longer trust that line of thinking. More vets need to stop using stats and realize not everyone takes critters to vet. There are many of us who  know simple vetting from yrs with the farm and 4-H.


Jacqueline Turner
September 12, 2017

My dog was the picture of health. Never had a single health problem. A beautiful mini pinscher. Only 7 yrs old. 6 months ago, he had a rabies shot- his first since he was a baby. His health went into rapid decline. Blood ppanel showed nothing. He died this morning. Looked to be a wasting disease, poison or cancer. He never ate or drank in the last stages and could barely stand up. He had wasted away to skin and bones. Yes, my neighbours had complained three times about barking. Perhaps they gave him something cumulative over time to poison. Or it was the rabies shot that did it.


PugUgly
September 8, 2017

Dog started getting ill may have eaten poisoned apples. Vet could find nothing


Sue
August 14, 2017

My daughter just walked outside to find two of her 3 month old lab pups dead at same time and day healthy pups playing and eating then dead whast could of done this there neibors are after them all the time the sasme day pupds died there adult son was at there house said he was getting his stuff close to dog kennels can everyone leave commit on what u think happened


Amy
April 27, 2017

My neighbor (from another country) thought they were doing something nice by throwing their left over cooked chicken bones over my fence.  I didn't know they were doing this until it was too late.  My little dog died a slow and painful death, throwing up, bloody diarrhea and, in effect, he starved to death because he was eating and eating but loosing weight. Over a 6 month period he became amaciated although he was desperately hungry. Evidently, he had internal punctures.  He would shake in pain every time he ate, but he was so hungry. I spent so much money trying to find out what was wrong with him...x rays, ultra sound, blood tests.  We could not figure it out, other than the fact that his digestive tract was inflamed. We tried medication after medication, and they only had little benefit. Once I discovered the evidence and found the problem (2 days after I finally was forced to put my dog to sleep), the Vet said that the chicken bones explained everything. I caught my other dog walking around carrying a full cooked chicken carcuss later (took it away from him).  Now he is beginning to show the same symptoms my other dog showed.  My neighbors just don't get it, that cooked chicken bones are deadly to dogs!  They also don't get respecting someone else's property.  English is not their first language so it is difficult communicating.  I don't know what to do, though, to keep them from doing it. I have a 6 foot privacy fence, which we share between our 2 yards. They can easily throw over a 6 foot structure. My dog is mainly indoors, but he goes outside (dog door) to poo.  I have been escorting him and watching him when he goes.  But when I am not home, he might be going out there and eating something left for him.    I think the writer of this article is too gullible thinking that neighbors, or people in general, are highly unlikely to poison or harm another person's animal.  Unfortunately, I think it happens a lot more than we realize.


Mona Lisa o
March 26, 2017

I was listening to talk radio about 10 years ago, and was shocked to hear the host of a radio talk show respond to a caller who asked what he should do about an annoying barking neighbor's dog. I wish I could remember the host's name, but the host told this caller to NOT complain to the neighbor, but to poison the dog (secretly of course). If he complained first, the neighbor would have a clue that he was the one who poisoned the dog... The poor caller said it was a very cute expensive looking dog, and the host just said, doesn't matter, the best way was to kill it. I really couldn't believe my ears. Does anyone remember hearing such a story on the radio? I think I know who it was, but afraid to blame the wrong person, since I don't really know for sure. Maybe they got a lot of hate mail afterwards and changed, I don't know. I started realizing talk radio is mostly to shock people into listening, but made me sick.


Laura
November 22, 2016

My dog died on US Labor Day.  I was doing yard work and came inside for some water.  He was laying in his favorite spot on the tile.  As I stepped over him, I realized I had to take a much larger area than usual.  He had a large pool of blood next to his head.  He was panting blood bubbles. I got him to my vet immediately and he took his agonal breath in the back seat of my truck as the vet had hopped in to listen to him with her stethoscope.   A few days prior to that was my neighbors' first call to the Sheriffs dept.  I was out to dinner and I guess they were barking (11:00 pm on a Friday night).  The next day, I smelled skunk everywhere.  Regardless, I was in such shock, it didn't occur to me that he may have been poisoned.  I have two other dogs that are healthy now, but since these two have been called in once, it dawned on me that there might be some people who could be putting them at risk.  I have always put my pets to sleep, not just watch them expire in a puddle of blood while safely laying in the home.  I have an 8 ft. privacy fence and my dogs are never loose, nor have access to any poisons on my property.  Is there a poison that could cause such acute GI bleeding/vommitting?  Is there a natural cause that would be so acute?


Homer Champagne
September 22, 2016

I suspect my neighbor poisoned my dog with a type of rat poison that there is no treatment for. Does the 4page blood test show the poisons effect. The individual has been complaining about dogs barking since 2002. He has been accused of doctoring dog buscuits in 2005, and dogs have been put down under his request claiming dangerous after he was witnessed hitting a cocker spaniel  with a board and nail. I feel dogs are still at risk in this neighborhood, and I'm not even hitting on the no cats stay around for very long. I was run out of the county by the sherrifs as they protect this old Navy vet.


JUNE
January 27, 2016

I find it hard to believe how silly you are.  People ARE evil and are not rare.  My neighbor admitted to poisoning both of my chihuahua puppies and I feel sure she has done it before.


Ron S
November 1, 2015

Malicious poisoning a rare occurrence? My neighbor poisoned our dog while having coffee with us in our kitchen! She put D-con rat poison in her water bowl. Did we see her do it? I'm always on the lookout for such an occurrence... aren't you? Our Sandy died 7 1/2 hours after our neighbor left. Proof? We cannot afford $1100 dollars to have her cremains tested for D-con and yes I've looked into it. The police cannot prosecute without this evidence.


Wendy Smith Wilson, DVM
August 7, 2015

Hi Jennifer, Unfortunately, if there was a toxin involved, there's just no way to tell what it might have been based on the information you've given.  I'm glad to hear that there will be a necropsy--that's the best way to find an answer, if it can be found.  Sometimes we never figure it out, and that is both heartbreaking and frustrating.  I'm very sorry for your loss.


Wendy Smith Wilson, DVM
August 7, 2015

Hi MIchael, I'm sorry to hear that this happened.  Since you are actually working with a veterinarian, that is the person I would talk to about what may have happened--that person is the one who actually saw your dog and is in the best position to figure out what happened.  Sometimes a necropsy (autopsy) will give more information--but sometimes not.  I'm sorry that I can't be of more help.


Jennifer
August 6, 2015

What are the signs? My Kiki was the picture of health but annoyed guy next door. Kiki ran upstairs, jump into my arms, screaming, and died. She smelled like alfredo sauce (we didn't have) The necropsy is pending.


Michaelq
August 5, 2015

My dog died of poison recently. on Monday morning I fed her ,she was absolutely fine.  running , eat like a dog. at evening around 7,  I gave her a bone, she did not show any interest.  I found something wrong,   she looked weak. she still walked.  Next morning,  she could not lift her head. she is 50lbs. she had seizures. we sent her to vet clinic,  she was diagnosed with nerve toxin poisoned and she died. only about 24 hrs. i could not think who could do this. any suggestion .


Megan 
April 28, 2015

This morning I stopped my dog on her way into the house because she had something in her mouth and I found it was a wad of raw ground beef mixed with green pellets. Took her to the vet where he induced vomiting and found her stomach to be full of meat and rat poison. She's not an outside dog, goes out only to potty, and is well behaved. There are people who will do this sort of thing and for no reason (not that a barking dog would be a good reason either; there is no good reason). The vet has saved the pellets for testing to narrow down what sort of rat poison was used and animal control is investigating. Probably all for naught though. I've never had issues with any neighbors so I couldn't begin to guess who might do this.


Christina 
June 10, 2014

My dog died from poison.


 

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Information and opinions expressed in letters to the editor are those of the author and are independent of the VIN News Service. Letters may be edited for style. We do not verify their content for accuracy.


 
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