4 Dogs Die After Eating Poisoned Meat in Sylmar

Los Angeles police and animal regulation officers are investigating the poisoning of as many as seven dogs, four of which died, this week in a Sylmar neighborhood.

The dogs died or became sick apparently after eating hamburger meat laced with white pellets that had been thrown into their yards Monday evening, police and pet owners said. The pellets are being analyzed to determine if they contain poison, officials said.

Three dogs died Monday and a fourth died Wednesday.

Michael Burns, assistant general manager of the Department of Animal Regulation, said that two of the dead dogs have been examined and he was “positive” they had been poisoned. He said there was no apparent tie between the Sylmar cases and a spate of animal poisonings in the past month in a neighborhood near Silver Lake Reservoir where six dogs and four cats have been killed.

“We have no evidence of any connections,” Burns said.

Residents in the Sylmar neighborhood around Tucker Avenue, where almost every resident is a pet owner, reacted with alarm to the poisonings. Julie Amon, whose three dogs ingested the meat, passed out flyers in the neighborhood warning residents.

One of Amon’s dogs, a 5-year-old fox terrier, died Wednesday morning. Another dog recovered after its stomach was pumped, and the third remains under the care of a veterinarian.

“I have no idea who would do this,” Amon said. “No one has ever complained. The dogs are kept in the house all night. It’s not like someone has a grudge against us.

“This neighborhood is dog city. I think there must be a dog in almost every house. The only neighbor I know who doesn’t have a dog had one, but it was stolen.”

Burns and a police investigator said there were no clues as to who is responsible for the animal poisonings. If a suspect is identified, he could be charged with felony animal cruelty, Burns said.

Burns plans to hold a news conference today to provide tips to pet owners on how to protect their animals.

Rosie Lopez said she came home about 10 p.m. Monday and found one of her shar-peis dead in the yard and the other sick and foaming at the mouth. She said the sick dog died as she was driving it to a veterinary hospital.

A dog belonging to a neighbor whose yard abuts Lopez’s yard also died Monday night.

“I can’t believe people do this on purpose,” Lopez said. “I can’t figure it out. They were beautiful animals, and someone just poisons them.”