GILROY
– Gilroy police are investigating the death of a second dog on
Ronan Avenue.
GILROY – Gilroy police are investigating the death of a second dog on Ronan Avenue.
Meanwhile, a local veterinarian has determined that a dog that died nearly a month ago died from natural causes, rather than poisoning as its owner suspected, police said.
Police received a call Monday night that a 1-year-old beagle on Ronan Avenue was behaving strangely and died shortly afterward, said Sgt. Noel Provost.
City police, who are Gilroy’s only animal control officers, went to locate the dog Tuesday morning but it had been picked up by its owner, Provost said.
“We’re making attempts to obtain this dead animal so that we can have it tested,” he said.
Police and residents have been wary of animal deaths in the area following a rash of mysterious cat deaths earlier this year in the area that some attributed to poisoning.
Bear, a dog owned by Ronan Avenue resident Dawn Appelman, was found dead in Appelman’s back yard nearly one month ago. Appelman suspected that someone had poisoned the 5-year-old wirehaired terrier.
Dr. Greg Martinez of Gilroy Veterinary Hospital determined the dog died of natural causes, Provost said. The dog was tested for poisons, he said, specifically those Appelman named, including strychnine.
“There was some issues that the vet had in regards to the dog’s diet,” he said.
Namely, that it was fed linguiça, a pork sausage.
Appelman said she feeds her dogs dog food, but that Bear and his sister, Chloe, “ate two small pieces” of the meat, which she said was not spicy, a couple days before Bear died. She was dissatisfied with the veterinarian’s findings and brought up other possibilities that could point to poisoning, she thought.
Martinez, who performed the postmortem examination on Bear, was unavailable for comment. Provost said both the animal’s stomach and pancreas were tested but no evidence of poisoning was found.
Cat deaths in the area have all but stopped since a Feb. 11 newspaper article on the phenomena, but Appelman said she still is vigilant.
“The only cats we have are our cats that are pets and we account for them every day,” Appelman said. “Every night we make sure that they’re in the house.”
Appelman also points to hazards, including chicken and rib bones, found in her back yard, that could indicate someone still means to harm animals in the area.
“We don’t eat chicken with bones in it, we don’t eat ribs with bones,” Appelman said. “We don’t give our dogs bones because they splinter.”
Lori Stuenkel covers education for The Dispatch. She can be reached at 847-7158 or ls*******@************ch.com.
