Pet poisoning reported in La Union coastal village

CALASIAO, Pangasinan – Residents of Baroro, a coastal barangay in Bacnotan, La Union, have asked police and animal welfare groups to look into what appeared to be a rampant poisoning of dogs in their community. 

Baroto has been alarmed after three dogs and a duck were found sprawled dead early Monday at the property of the Jabontinalla family. 

Adrian Jabonitalla, 24, was awakened by his uncle Levy’s calls, telling him that Blaky, one of the family’s puppies, had been found dead in the yard. 

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READ: Animal poisonings alarm villagers in Legazpi City

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“I immediately ran to the kubo where the dogs stayed and found Cheche, the mother dog, also dead. Then Brownie, Blaky’s brother, was found sprawled on the floor of the kubo. Somewhere in the yard was a duck, also dead,” Jabonitalla said. 

Cheche was nine years old, while her puppies, Blaky and Brownie, were less than a year old.

“The dogs’ bodies were already stiff when we found them, so they were probably poisoned early Sunday night. But their eyes were open, as if they were bewildered by what was happening to them. I closed their eyes,” Jabonitalla told the Inquirer.

The three dogs and the duck were found frothing at the mouth and had vomited food mixed with a green substance, he said.

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“They were my mother Melody’s pets. She loved them so much, and losing them in such a way is really painful,” he said.

The family later learned that dogs belonging to two neighbors in Baroro were also poisoned that same night.

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Jabonitalla said the family did not hear any barking or whimpering from their dogs during the night.

He could not say whether the animals had been familiar with the culprit, which might explain why they did not bark and may have readily eaten whatever was given to them.

The family is seeking an investigation, saying it was not the first suspected case of dog poisoning in the area.

READ: She poisoned his dog; he stabbed her: Did his dog eat her hen’s eggs?

Last week, the dog of Jabonitalla’s uncle Levy was also poisoned, while another dog in Barangay Centro was reportedly targeted too.

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Jabonitalla said they would review footage from the closed-circuit television cameras installed at his grandfather’s property to determine whether the culprit had been captured on video and could be identified./coa