Poison rumors are irresponsible

Regarding the article, “Officials confirm 1 dog poisoning, but information is scant”: There is no conclusive evidence linking any dog poisoning to local dog parks. And every article and news story has reported this fact. Sensationalistic exaggeration and rumor-mongering on social media are scaring away the community of dog lovers who regularly visit dog parks.

There have, indeed, been neighborhood dog poisonings. Sadly, this is nothing new. Neighbor disputes over dogs can turn ugly if the people involved are ugly. Dogs have sickened and died from rat poison in meatballs. But these neighborhood disputes have no connection to local dog parks. Park rangers are doing a yeoman’s job trying to track down intentional poisoning rumors about dog parks but they are frustrated because those who pass on these rumors, when contacted by an official investigation, take down their postings and clam up.

The main connection made to a local dog park comes from interpretations of the fact that a dog visited Willis Tucker dog park on Thanksgiving, became ill, was taken to an emergency vet and, tragically, died. My deepest sympathies are with the family that suffered from this and I have no wish to cause any more harm to them in their grief. But as the ranger told the paper, a poisoning was confirmed, but not where it happened.

Many years ago I had a dog that showed all the signs of poisoning. I immediately thought some jerk had intentionally spread poison. But when I rushed him to the vet and she examined the contents of his belly, the best she could determine was that he had eaten a rotted dead bat. Unfortunately, our furry friends are not very discriminating about what they put in their mouths if it smells interesting. Most dog illnesses and poisoning — like deaths, while tragic, are unfortunate accidents.

Rumors about “intentional poisoning” and media headlines that claim this are irresponsible and causing harm to our community.

Jim Anderson

Snohomish