Hunt for the Wimbledon dog poisoner
Is pet-hating killer deliberately planting contaminated chicken pieces in leafy London suburb?
IT’S a leafy London borough where streets are lined with 4x4s and houses cost millions.
But the genteel residents of Wimbledon fear a dog poisoner is on the loose after a beloved schnauzer died and six other dogs fell badly ill.
Owners’ desperate stories about their stricken pets emerged amid reports of chicken pieces being scattered across dozens of locations in the area.
Pieces of meat – both raw and cooked – have been found on Wimbledon Common and on streets nearby. Anxious dog owners who fear the chicken has been deliberately left out to cause harm to their dogs have carefully mapped out where each piece has been found.
They suspect the meat may contain dangerous bacteria or has even been laced with poison.
Chicken bones can also cause harm if they break into splinters in a dog’s stomach.
Jan Quilter’s eight-year-old miniature schnauzer Bertie died on Monday having fallen ill after a walk on t he common t he day before. Mrs Quilter, 62, believes Bertie may have eaten poisoned meat when he was out.
She said: ‘I’m not doing very well with it. It’s hard to understand how such a little dog can get so under your skin but I’m afraid that they do. To lose him so quickly and tragically like that is awful really. The vet said he’d been poisoned. They came to that conclusion because the sickness came on so suddenly and all his organs closed down.
‘We always do the same walk and I didn’t see him eat anything, but what else could it have been? It wouldn’t have been anything that he would have got in the house or the garden. I think because it happened so quickly to such a healthy little dog it must have been terrible for him.
‘He was only eight but there was nothing wrong with him. It’s terribly shocking.’
The cause of Bertie’s death has yet to be determined. Mrs Quilter said she is awaiting the results of a toxicology test from the RSPCA.
Other dog owners said their pets started shaking violently and then t hrew up chicken pieces and bones. Dog owner Erin Yurday has created a map of sightings of chicken on her blog.
She said: ‘I first started hearing about this chicken being left around in December.
‘People were posting about the chicken that they were seeing and it grew obvious pretty quickly that there was a pattern to it.’
One woman reported on a community website that a woman in a 4X4 had been s een t hrowing chicken from her car window, adding a warning that dogs should be kept on a lead for their safety.
Last night a spokesman for the RSPCA said: ‘ These reports are very concerning and we’re assisting the police with their inquiries.’
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police have been made aware of allegations that a number of dogs have fallen ill after eating chicken left out on the street. Officers are investigating.’