6 dogs poisoned in same street
2009-04-06 09:52
Johannesburg - Six dogs were found dead within two days at three adjacent homes in Witpoortjie, Roodepoort, while another two dogs fell ill after they were presumably given the deadly poison Aldicarb.
Sanet Coetzee, 43, of Java Street lost four ridgeback crosses, Lady, Wolhaarbrakkie, Swartgesig and Nikita, after they were poisoned.
Her dog Misty also became ill from the poison on Thursday morning, but managed to survive.
Two sparrows and two hadidas died within two days in the same street.
"I am now too scared to drive anywhere," said Coetzee.
Her son, Nico, 24, found the carcasses on his way to work on Thursday morning. One dog lay at the gate and another three lay at the back next to the wall.
Julius, a dog belonging to Yolandie Deyzel, Coetzee's neighbour, died the same morning. Her German shepherd, Caesar, survived the poison attack, but became ill.
Another resident on the corner lost a Chow cross, Mila, on Friday morning due to poisoning.
Warning
"You are looking for trouble if you leave your dog outside at night, keep him in the house where he can still wake you up when he hears something," warned Pieter Delpoort, head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Florida, Roodepoort, after a spate of dog deaths over the past few months.
Police spokesperson Captain Lydia Mtila-Dikolomela, said police did investigate cases of dog poisoning as malicious damage to property but in such a case, a post-mortem had to be done by a veterinarian and few owners were willing to pay for these. The State did not cover them.
According to Delport, robbers were not afraid of poisoning the dogs of a whole street when targeting just one home.