Dead dogs possibly poisoned | Napa Valley Register

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Dead dogs possibly poisoned

Friday, October 31, 2008

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By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

7:30 p.m.A Napa family is heartsick as they try to understand why someone would poison their three dogs.

On Wednesday, Sheri Smith returned home from work to her residence on Sunview Drive in Browns Valley to find her dogs dead in the backyard.

All three dogs — Greysha and CoCo, retired racing greyhounds, and Zoey, a German shepherd/husky mix — are rescue dogs, Smith said.

A reward of $500 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or person responsible for the dogs’ death, according to a friend of the family.

Smith said she found a box of snail bait near the dogs, which appeared to have been thrown over the fence.

“It did not look as if the dogs had ripped it open. It was a clean cut on the top of the box as if someone had used a knife to open it,” she said.

Smith said she does not have any type of pesticides on her property. “Everything we use in the yard and garden is animal safe. There is just no way my dogs got into snail bait accidentally.”

Smith and her family have no idea why someone would want to harm their dogs.

“Greyhounds are very docile animals. They hardly ever bark. I have not had any complaints from any of my neighbors. The dogs never ran loose. If we took them out, they were always on a leash,” she said.

Smith said police questioned her two teenage sons, asking them if they knew of anyone who might want to retaliate by hurting the dogs.

“My boys are just as at a loss for an explanation for this as I am,” Smith said. “We are just all so devastated and heartbroken. Even if someone had issues with the dogs, this is no way to handle it.”

Napa Police Sgt. Amy Hunter said police took a report from Smith.

“At this time, I don’t know exactly how the dogs got the poison. But we thought there were some suspicious circumstances, so we took a report,” Hunter said.

“All I know is that there is a very sick person out there, and I want the community to be aware of that and keep an eye on their pets,” Smith said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Napa police at 257-9223.

25 comment(s)

kkkkaty wrote on Oct 31, 2008 8:12 PM:

" You have my deepest sympathy. I can not understand how anyone could do something like this. I know that the greyhounds I've met at Alston have made me aware of what lovely animals they are: gentle; kind; loving. I'm about to take this personally that anyone could harm any dog much less such sweeties. This reinforces my belief that animals can be so much nicer than people. "

MarkMiwords wrote on Oct 31, 2008 8:27 PM:

" Ms. Smith, I am really sorry for the loss of your dogs. This kind of action against innocent animals is reprehensible. Some one poisoned my two dogs. I was able to save them with the following recipe. 1 handful dried Mung Beans (lentils found at Asian markets) 1 cup water, Smash the mung beans with a mallet and boil in water for 3 to 5 minutes Cool and give the boiled fluid to the dog. If the dog is too weak to drink, squirt it down the dog's throat with a syringe or turkey baster. This is an old Asian recipe for poisoning....it was intended for people, but worked amazingly well for my dogs. They lived and are now both getting quite old. "

proudmama2 wrote on Oct 31, 2008 9:12 PM:

" Shari and family- We don't know each other but I am sick to my stomach over this. How could anyone hurt innocent animals like that? I hope for you and your family's sake that they find out who did this and punish them to the FULLEST EXTENT of the law.

Our thoughts are with you. We have several animals and if this happened to them, you can bet we would not stop until we found who did it. "

napapeace wrote on Oct 31, 2008 9:22 PM:

" Sorry for your loss, Ms. Smith. I hope the sick individuals responsible for this get caught and reported in the paper. "

NapaConservative wrote on Oct 31, 2008 9:52 PM:

" disgusting! This world has truly become one that we can't even leave our dogs in our back yard?! My thoughts and prayers go out to this family, I know how dogs can become part of the family and I hope your loss sees some justice! "

John Richards wrote on Oct 31, 2008 9:59 PM:

" I don't know the nature of these particular dogs, and I certainly do not condone poisoning dogs, but I can understand how a frustrated neighbor, subjected to night after night of yapping noises, would finally snap and do such a thing. I know I can't even sleep with my windows open, because of all the barking. "

sunview wrote on Oct 31, 2008 10:02 PM:

" I wonder if the people responsible were targeting the "bad man" on the street, and just got it wrong.

I am very sorry for your loss. "

Dirty Napkin wrote on Oct 31, 2008 10:15 PM:

" But then on the other hand, we live next door to some dogs who bark all the time. Im not stretching the truth. The people know about it, and simply dont give a damn. Im not saying your dogs bark, but the fact of the matter is there are people in this world who do mean things just to feel better inside. My grandmas neighbor threw motor oil all over her cat because it would come into his yard to sun bathe... People need to talk to eachother more, and not be afraid of offending eachother. Bottom line, if something bothers you, talk to your neighbor, this was just un-called for. "

KawaiiMira wrote on Oct 31, 2008 11:28 PM:

" Ms. Smith I am very sorry for you loss. I know if my cats were ever murdered as your dogs were, I would be heartbroken and searching for the individuals responsible. This is why both my cats are indoor only. There are just too many dangers outside that could harm any pet.

I agree with a previous poster who said if something bothers you, rather than punish the animal, talk to the owner and see if something can be worked out. "

starling wrote on Nov 1, 2008 7:14 AM:

" This angers me beyond belief!! To poison poor animals is just one of the meanest things someone could ever do. For the posters would said they could understand it if the dogs were barking all the time, shame on you!! A dog can be trained not to bark so much and owners who let their dogs do that are to blame, not the animal. I personally know because we have a white shepard and live next to a forest where wild animals are always roaming. She would bark at anything coming near the property, but to her, she was just doing her job and dogs do take their "jobs" very seriously believe it or not. We broke the barking at everything habit by letting her stay out on the deck at night (in the summer of course) if she didn't bark except for big things. She learned real quickly that barking except for emergencies after 8pm or before 8am, made her have to come in and go to bed. We praised her when she did bark at something big and she learned the difference of what was ok and what wasn't. Apparently these dogs were not problem barkers and no matter what, there was no excuse. My sincere condolences to this family and I hope they catch the heartless person(s) who did this and throw the book at them. "

skippert wrote on Nov 1, 2008 8:25 AM:

" Whoever did this is sick and wrong. When we first moved to town after growing up on Mt.Veeder Road we had only been here for a few months and someone poisoned our german shepard and shot out neibors german shepard with a spear gun. Of course this was in the early 80's. I am so sorry for your family and the poor dogs. "

tfytmp wrote on Nov 1, 2008 8:34 AM:

" A word of caution to all pet owners do not use snail bait in your yard if your pets can get to it. There is one pet safe product and that is Sluggo, just be sure it is not the improved Sluggo. "

Dwayne wrote on Nov 1, 2008 8:45 AM:

" Any political signs in the front yard...??? "

mykdgirl54 wrote on Nov 1, 2008 9:50 AM:

" My heart goes out to you and your family! What an AWEFUL thing to have happened! If you aren't safe in your home, community, then where are you safe!?

As for the individual who poisioned these animals I really hope for the community's sake he/she gets caught - hurting animals in this way is a sign of LARGER more disturbing troubles. Or if it was just a senseless prank - I hope they get caught and are taught a lesson in humanity. "

checkursix wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:18 AM:

" You gotta luv the fact that this story has more comments that the story about the guy getting stabbed at Downtown Joe's. WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING!!!!! "

sammy wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:25 AM:

" I cannot even imagine the grief and shock your family is enduring. I am so sorry and I hope and pray they find the criminals who did this. Again, I am so so sorry. We have 3 beautiful dogs ourselves that are in our yard most of the day..... and one would think they are safe now wouldn't we. I'm so sorry. "

Sickothis wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:48 AM:

" Dirty Napkin - I hear that. We have neighbors that really could care less that their yippy dog (a jack Russel ) barks incessantly, for hours on end. The City seems to not care either. I would love to hear of some success stories getting barking dog issues resolved. In our case this has been happening for years, and we can't seem to get any relief.

Now that said - intentionally killing someones pet is about the most foul thing I can think of. I don't know that I have ever even heard a Greyhound bark... There ARE some sick people out there. My condolences to the family.

I hope they find the dirtbag or bags that did this, and that whomever is responsible is sentenced to many multiple years of community service at the animal shelter or a greyhound rescue organization. "

shytess wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:51 AM:

" My heart breaks for you, Sheri. You rescued these beautiful animals and showered them with all of the love and nurturing they were missing in their former homes. I know you were a thoughtful and attentive pet owner - your dogs were always well cared for and they were definitely NOT "barkers." I consider the person responsible for this senseless poisoning a complete coward and a threat to all pet owners in the community-- I only hope that he or she is apprehended and punished to the full extent of the law. "

npma wrote on Nov 1, 2008 11:34 AM:

" Sheri and family I am so sorry for the loss of your dogs,It take a really foul person to do something so sick words would'nt describe this person.I am truly sorry to hear about this,and to checkursix this is a new story so yeah more people will comment plus he is still alive thank goodness if he had lost his life you can bet a lot more comments would have been made.And if you are so worried a about comment volume made you should keep yours to your self "

Baraki wrote on Nov 1, 2008 1:35 PM:

" Any chance the random dog killing is related to the random stabbing? Bizarre things happening around here these days... "

AmCan Mom wrote on Nov 1, 2008 5:38 PM:

" This was such a hurtful thing to do to someone, and I ams orry for the family. But, I can't help but think...

If only people we as concerned for the innocent babies as they are for innocent people. "

sammy wrote on Nov 1, 2008 8:12 PM:

" this is a strange comment for this forum AmCan Mom. And very presumptious that people aren't concerned. How many innocent baby and children have you cared for in your life time ? concern is one thing and action is another thing.

This is a article in regards to pets..... "

ValleyKitten wrote on Nov 2, 2008 10:40 AM:

" My two little Yorkies were poisoned last year, I almost lost them both. The police did nothing and could do nothing. I knew who did it and the police said it was my word against theirs. I needed to see the person actually do it.

The person that poisoned my dogs was a family member (in law), angry from a break up of one of my family members. That would have been the last person I would have suspected, it came out of left field. That person called me up the next day to ask me "how my dogs were?"
She did all of this because she did not want me to go to court on behalf of my family member in their divorce/custody proceedings.

So, sometimes it is not about the dogs being a problem, they just become the innocent victims. And unless you see the person actually give the poison to the dogs..they police do nothing. "

AmCan Mom wrote on Nov 3, 2008 11:46 AM:

" To Sammy,

I have four children, not including the one I lost, and a couple dozen local nieces and nephews that I help care for, how about you? I also have a cat who is like a member of the family. I was not presuming that all people aren't as concerned about babies and chilcren as they are about pets, but let me be more specific: I wish people were as sympathetic towards human life as they are towards animal life. Since Roe v Wade there have been over 46 MILLION legal abortions performed in the US. (This number was obtained from prolifeactiondotorg, with their numbers coming from the Allan Guttmacher institute.) As I first said, this was a horrible act, I feel very sorry for the family. My first comment was a reaction to all the sympathies from people who seemed so angry and I couldn't help but wonder if these same people were as pasionate about people. "

sammy wrote on Nov 4, 2008 1:57 PM:

" Well AmCan Mom, I'm the Mom to 13 children, only 4 through birth, the others thru adoption, and I've parented over 300 children. ..and if you want to count nieces and nephews,... i've got about 4 dozen of those :) and many grands. So I've done my share of caring for the children that were not aborted and I thank God for that.

I just stated this article is about animals not the children......and while I admire your love for your children and family members..... I encourage you to step out of the comfy box and help the children in our communities that don't have supportive loving families. "

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