Eight Dogs Killed in Oregon Poison Spree

July 18, 2003 -- Dogs are being poisoned in Portland, Ore., as a turf war over the city's parks has turned ugly.

Eight dogs have died and a total of at least 16 have gotten sick since July 4, believed to be poisoned by someone leaving contaminated meat or sausage in Laurelhurst Park, an area popular with dog owners who want to let their pets run, police said.

The poison that was used has not yet been determined, Portland Police Detective William Crockett said, but doctors who treated the dogs said it caused a slow, lingering death. The last dog who appeared to have fallen victim to the poisoning was admitted to Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital on July 12 and died five days later, hospital spokeswoman Devon Zahn said.

There had been no new cases since that dog, but on Thursday evening just before a fund-raiser for a reward and a medical fund was set to begin at a Portland bar, the Lucky Lab, a waitress took a call from a man who she said told her he was going to target another park popular with dog owners.

"He said he was moving his campaign to Mount Tabor," Annette Hunt told ABC affiliate KATU, referring to a large Southeast Portland park with wooded areas and a reservoir. "He sounded like an old man. He wouldn't tell me who he was. He told me he was moving his campaign and he hung up."

Police said they were investigating the call and warned dog owners to watch their dogs closely when they take them out.

Slow Death

One of the dogs who was poisoned, a ridgeback-mastiff mix named Taro, was on a respirator for days because the poison destroyed his throat and lungs. It also damages its victims' kidneys, Zahn said.

The poisonings have increased tensions between those who like to see their dogs roaming free, and people who feel the city's leash law should be enforced.

"I don't know if this is related, but it certainly does stir up some bad blood," said Marychris Maas, president of Citizens for Safe Parks with Off-Leash Territory, a group that has been fighting to get the city to designate more areas in the city's parks for dogs to be allowed to run.

The city's Parks & Recreation bureau said it does not use any pesticide that could cause the poisoning. It urged dog owners to keep their pets leashed and prevent them from eating anything off the ground. Any dog that gets sick after a visit to a park should be taken to a veterinarian right away.

"We all want to get to the bottom of this disturbing news," Parks & Recreation Director Zari Santner said in a statement.

Overrun by Dogs?

People have stopped taking their dogs to Laurelhurst, which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods on the east side of the city, and some who have led the fight to crack down on scofflaw dog owners fear that they will be suspects. Police say they believe the off-leash issue is the motive for the poisonings.

"We don't have anything that is pointing to anybody, but we're convinced that the cause is going to be over the leashing animal issue," Crockett said. "It's been a hot-point issue."

Hot enough that the man who runs leashyourdog.com, a Web site that posts photographs of people who walk their dogs off leads, goes by a pseudonym and says he does not let anyone know he operates the site, because of threats sent to it. And that was long before the poisonings.