‘No Reason’ to E. County Dog Poisonings

Sheriff’s deputies are mystified at the rash of dog deaths in Julian and Pine Valley, where in each town several canine deaths have been linked to strychnine poisoning.

“Quite a few people are worried because there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the deaths; some of the dogs were enclosed in their backyards, some were roamers,” San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy John Seiferth said. “People in Julian are clinging to their dogs.”

Three dogs have died of strychnine poisoning in Julian in the last two to three weeks, said Paul Culver, an investigating officer with the San Diego County Humane Society. In Pine Valley, two dog deaths have been linked to strychnine poisoning since last week, he said.

Seven dogs’ deaths have been reported in each town in the last few weeks and rumors of poisonings abound, but because the dogs are now buried it is impossible to confirm the causes of death, Culver said.

“We have no real suspects at this time,” Culver said. “Offhand, it would seem that there have been more poisonings this month than in the past few months combined.”

Sheriff’s Deputy John Weber of Pine Valley said, “We have people hanging up posters warning others about the dog killer. We don’t even have enough information to narrow it down to one person doing the poisoning.”

Hubert Johnstone, a San Diego County veterinarian, said he injected stomach samples from the two Pine Valley dogs into mice, and the mice showed symptoms of strychnine poisoning.

In Julian, a veterinarian took some blood samples from a dead dog and concluded that the dog was poisoned, Culver said. Two other dogs apparently died when they ate from a bone poisoned with strychnine, he said.

Seiferth said his partner discovered the poisoned bone in a backyard Thursday. An earlier discovery of a paper bag “filled with a meat-like substance” found in the same backyard was not poisoned, Johnstone said.

“I don’t understand how this bone ties in to the case. It doesn’t look like it was gnawed at, and it doesn’t have enough meat on it to entice a dog,” Johnstone said. “I wonder if someone is starting to play games.”

Johnstone said a dog may die suddenly if the animal has an infectious disease, or the dog’s intestines twist. He doubted that the 14 reported deaths were all linked to poisoning.