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Lehi residents believe dogs poisoned, Utah Humane Society offers reward for info

Posted at 6:07 PM, Jul 02, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-03 17:33:38-04

LEHI, Utah -- A Lehi neighborhood is on edge after a dog died from what residents say appears to be poison and another dog showed similar symptoms.

The Humane Society of Utah is now offering a $3,000 reward for information that helps officials solve this case.

The dog owners said it wasn't an accident and now police are investigating whether someone in the neighborhood poisoned the dog.

“I thought he was just hot or being silly because he still had a lot of puppy tendencies,” Melanie Green said. “So I brought him inside, he had another seizure under the kitchen table. And that's when I knew something was wrong with him, because he's a very young healthy dog.”

The weimaraner chocolate lab mix continued to have seizures and soon after died while being treated at the vet. The veterinarian found small green pellets inside of the dog, which they say said is likely rat or gopher poison. Both dog owners said they don't keep poison like that around the house. Both animals are kept in backyards with separate fences, and one of the dog owners said they went through the area with an animal control officer and couldn't find anything in the area that may have poisoned the dog.

Green said: “My 5 and 7-year-old watched the whole thing, and they sat in the car screaming, 'he's dying.' They were really scared.”

At the same time, another dog in the neighborhood was also having seizures and muscles spasms. Lucy is a therapy dog for the Ybarra’s son, who has autism.

“She's a huge part of the family,” Emily Ybarra said. “She's been with us since we got that autism diagnosis. The thought of losing her yesterday was so heart breaking.”

The dog owners said it can't be a coincidence, and both suspect someone in the neighborhood poisoned the animals.

“At first I was really angry, really sad, really scared, and now even today I feel nervous letting my kids play in my backyard,” Ybarra said.

Officials with the Lehi Police Department said they are investigating the case but will have to wait for the blood work to come back to confirm whether it was poison