10 pet dogs poisoned in Udayampalayam

COIMBATORE: More than10 dogs died due to poisoning in Udayampalayam panchayat near Ganapathy that caused a stir among residents of the area on Wednesday, more so because were all pets. The dogs were found shivering and unwell in the wee hours of the morning before they died. The incident recurred for 10 consecutive days. This is the second case of poisoning reported in the city which came to light when the tenth dog that was showed similar symptoms was rushed to a local veterinarian who diagnosed who confirmed it was poisoning.A week back, seven stray dogs were found poisoned and dead in Kavundampalayam area.
“For the past one week, we saw our dogs going out to the street early in the morning before they passed out on the road and died within a few minutes,” said P Anandhi, a resident who lost two dogs the same way. “I found my dog shivering the previous evening and I thought it was just being dramatic. But the following morning, it was dead,” said Radha N another resident who lost her pet.
Vanjiamman Nagar, where the dogs were poisoned, has some hundred households with fields around them. Residents with pets initially assumed that their dogs had consumed pesticides. But a doctor, who treated oneof the dogs on Wednesday, said that poisoned meat was deliberately fed to the dogs. “This is definitely a case of poisoning. This dog, Tommy, which survived must have eaten less than others,” said R Prabhakaran, veterinarian. K Banumathi, another resident said that a few days back, her dog became sick but after immediate treatment, it survived. “But none of us were aware of the reason behind it. We were worried that some kind of disease was spreading amongst dogs,” she added. Police suspect that thieves might be responsible for this. “We have registered a complaint with the police but no one has yet come over to investigate,” said S Rajeshwari, a resident and ex-councillor of the area. “Police had said thieves were responsible for the poisoning in the Kavundampalayam case. This could have been avoided, if people didn’t let their pets outside their homes,” said Kalpana Vasudevan, managing trustee, People for Animals (Unit II).