A Casino woman whose dog was one of two victims of strychnine poisoning calls it an “horrific and inhumane way for anyone or anything to die.”
Dena Wyna also asked for anyone who has the neurotoxin to dispose of it safely after her four-year-old golden retriever Sugar and Sugar’s playmate and neighbour, a border collie named Hank, died within a day of each other.
Both dogs are believed to have consumed meat laced with strychnine, which Trail RCMP think someone was using to illegally bait coyotes.
“Sugar was a precious, beautiful, sweet, kind, loving, easy dog,” Wyna said, noting she had Sugar from birth, as she was the daughter of her previous dog.
“[She was] super loving, playful, joyful, got along with every other dog. She was well-trained.”
Sugar was also adored by Wyna’s nine-year-old son.
“They were each other’s guardians,” she said. “My son is an only child and he absolutely loved her. We would get up in the morning and she would be there. Every moment we’re walking around the house or outside, we remember and think about her because she was a huge part of our lives.”
Sugar regularly roamed Wyna’s 10-acre property. Sugar’s best friend Hank lived on a 20-acre property nearby and the two dogs would go back and forth between the two properties.
On Sunday, Wyna took Sugar for a way and found her to be her usual joyful, playful self. But when she returned from a grocery run, she was nowhere to be seen. At first Wyna thought Sugar might have been playing with Hank on his property.
But when she checked again, she spotted Sugar laying beside their house and knew something was wrong. Wyna discovered Sugar’s limbs hyper-extended, her mouth clenched, and her body stiff.
“It was horrific to see her like that. We had no idea what happened. We were shocked and it was traumatizing for my son to see his beloved pet like that.”
While they alerted others that Sugar had died, they had no idea of the cause until the next morning when Wyna and her son looked out the window and saw Hank with a chunk of meat in his mouth.
Alarmed, they tried to take it away from him, but he took off under a fence. He returned soon after in convulsions. Wyna picked him up, put him in the back of the car, and rushed for the vet in Trail, but it was already too late.
“He was convulsing the whole way there and he died in my car with my son. It’s been very traumatizing. [Hank was] four years old too and had so much life left.”
They vet determined Hank had strychnine in his blood, which causes severe muscle contractions and death through asphyxiation. Wyna said Sugar was in the same position as Hank when she found him, so she has no doubt he suffered the same fate.
Wyna says other dogs live in the neighbourhood, which is now on high alert.
“Lots of people are dog lovers around here. This poison is horrific and a horrible, tragic way to die. It’s very toxic for any animal or human that comes in contact with it. If you have a stash or store it, get rid of it safely.
“I don’t want this to happen again around here or anywhere.”
