Last week, the Bulletin reported that there had been some suspicious dog deaths after they had been walked in the Wycliffe area. At the time, Kimberley RCMP said that there had been no reports, and asked anyone whose dog had been affected to contact them so they could begin an investigation.
“Police encouraged the owners to contact police after multiple social message posts suggested that dogs have been poisoned,” Detachment Commander Sgt Chris Newel said in a press release. “The incidents occurred after owners had been hiking on the “Butte” in Wycliffe.
“A woman contacted police to advise that about two weeks prior to the social media posts she had been hiking the Butte with her dog. The dog did get quite sick after the hike but did recover. Police also received third party information that a second dog had similar systems and had recovered.
“In the meantime Veterinary Clinics in the area posted they had not seen any related incidents. Again owners were encouraged to report the incidents. Later the clinics updated their post stating they had a reported incident.
“On March 10 an owner reported to the RCMP, that their dog had died on March 2, after they had been hiking the Butte. In consultation with the vet, police learned blood tests had been done and there were no indication of toxins. The stomach contents have been preserved for further analysis. The Vet also said the cause of death cannot be positively determined as there could be other medical conditions that exhibit similar symptoms.
The symptoms shown by the two dogs that got sick were vastly different than the one who died, Newel says.
“So at this stage police are not able to link the two incidents,” he said.
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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