2nd Guide Dog May Have Been Poisoned : Animals: Four of blind woman’s canines have died in the last year after suffering unexplained seizures. Police are investigating the deaths.

Heidi pawed at the glass sliding door as usual.

It was 7 a.m. Tuesday, and Audrey Moore--a 54-year-old blind woman--got up from her breakfast to let her guide dog in. The animal, her best friend, had been tussling in the back yard of her Alhambra home with her other dog, Raquel.

But something was terribly wrong.

When Moore opened the door, Heidi fell on her side in convulsions. A few minutes later, the dog stumbled into the house and then died in Moore’s arms as she sat on the hardwood floor. Later that morning, while Moore was at the veterinarian’s office, her mother found Raquel dead in the back yard.

In the past year, four of Moore’s dogs--two of them highly-trained guide dogs--have died after suffering unexplained seizures, she said Thursday.

Moore, who has partial vision in her right eye, believes all four dogs were poisoned, but declined to reveal her theories about possible motives. A veterinarian who examined Heidi and Raquel--both German shepherds--said each dog had strychnine in its belly, Moore said.

Alhambra police are investigating the dogs’ deaths as “suspicious,” Sgt. Jeffrey Powell said Thursday. Investigators are waiting for the results of toxicology tests before seeking possible suspects for prosecution on felony cruelty to animal charges. A person convicted of poisoning a dog faces a maximum one-year prison sentence and $20,000 fine, Powell said.

Meanwhile, the Alhambra Police Officers Assn. has started a fund to raise money for the Sylmar-based Guide Dogs of America. The organization, which has offered to help Moore, provides free guide dogs to qualified blind people but relies on donations for its services, spokeswoman Sandy Hanner said. Also, the Humane Society of the United States has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit, and the Alhambra Police Officers Assn. has offered a $500 reward. Information: (818) 570-5168. “It shocks us,” said Officer George Flannagan, vice president of the police association. “Why would someone take their frustrations out on an innocent animal?”

Moore, an unemployed secretary, said she also will offer a reward, even if it means giving up her house and belongings.

“I’m willing to put down every penny I have for this,” said Moore, who is divorced and lives with her 87-year-old mother.

Moore took the 2 1/2-year-old dog everywhere. On Wednesday, for the first time since Heidi’s death, Moore left the house, stumbling along with a white cane to downtown Alhambra.

“I felt like I didn’t have all of me with me,” Moore said.

She is not ready to get another guide dog yet. Heidi was more than a guide dog, Moore said. She lay at Moore’s feet on the bus and watched for approaching strangers. When strangers got too close, Heidi’s ears flattened and her eyes widened. People noticed and stayed away.

The dog was not afraid of anything, except thunder. On stormy nights, Heidi, who usually slept on a rug in the kitchen, crawled into bed with Moore.

Moore is trying to write an epitaph of sorts for Heidi, whose cremated remains will be kept in a cedar box on her fireplace mantle. But the words aren’t coming right now.

“I have to think of the good, but right now, it’s very hard,” said Moore, her voice cracking, her arms tightly crossed. “To tell you the truth, I’d like to organize a lynching party and go after the person who did it.”