This year two dogs were poisoned in June. Their names
were Benny and Ziggy and they lost their lives due to poisoning after being
walked in Vales de Pêra, in the Central Algarve. This occurred on a track “where people cycle, walk their dogs or walk just for pleasure. It’s not
a private land”, said Anita, the owner of the dogs.
She has lived in Alcantarilha for 15 years and has
walked her dogs there for six of these. "I know the area very well. I go
there about three times a week. Now I've been going there every day since and
I'm seeing if I see a suspicious person".
These two dogs lived a happy life with Anita until
they were poisoned last month. Both were rescue dogs and one of them was
rescued after being left inside an abandoned house when his owners moved
elsewhere.
Last year
The other
case, which The Portugal News reported
last year, happened on exactly the same day and in the same place.
Last year, the owner of the dog, Jeff Turner, reported the case to the police
as well as Anita.
The Portugal News has confirmed this information with the police who stated that: "One of the situations happened in June 2021, where the owner reported that his dog, after sniffing a bush, fell lifeless on the ground and ended up dying. The other situation happened in June this year, where the owner verified that her two dogs, which were walking without a leash, had lost strength and fell inanimate. The dogs were assisted by a vet but ended up dying".
Facebook page
Although
the police have only confirmed these cases, Anita told me that in total there
are already 15 cases of dogs dying in the area, but most of them are only
reported to a vet or not reported at all.
Last year,
when his dog died due to poisoning, Jeff set up a Facebook
page in order to alert people to what was going on. A year later,
the problem is still unsolved.
"We
still don't know who is doing this. It could be someone who has something
against animals, some psycho person or someone who doesn't want us to walk our
dogs there, but at least they can put up a sign or say something," Anita
said.
Therefore, Anita calls to all those who have seen
their dogs killed to report it because it can be a danger to everyone as the
poison is very quick acting. "Even a child could touch the poison as it is
in a place where people can sit under a tree and have a picnic!" she
warned.
Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252
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the dog wouldn't be able to eat something in a public place if it were muzzled
By ss from Porto on 13 Jul 2022, 11:34
I lost 2 cats end of May and also found a fox dying on my doorstep, which GNR Ambiente removed. The cats, both healthy animals just disappeared. Our property is in Vales de Pera, Estrada Mt's. Raposos.
By Antje Lankenau from Algarve on 13 Jul 2022, 12:58
The way the Portuguese treat animals is criminal. No other way to describe it.
By K from Other on 14 Jul 2022, 21:04
Very sad and the muzzle part is sad but true as well. If you see something, say something. The only solace for something like this is to know that everything you do and the pain you cause others comes back to you although we usually don't get to see it. Why don't a group band together and pass out or put up flyers with an e-mail address for people to be aware and say what they see, maybe phone photo it and then the e-mail recipient can forward it to the police and have a designated police officer on those cases that you can check on. I hope they catch the person or it just doesn't happen again because of too much attention. Is it going to take a child or person's death to get some legal assistance?
By Wesley from USA on 15 Jul 2022, 05:40
The way the Portuguese treat animals is criminal. No other way to describe it.
By K from Other on 14 Jul 2022, 22:04
Well it seems that K from the other on beside of not liking Portugal also likes to generalize everything about the Portuguese people also for your information this can happen anywhere were or even in the UK or another place . Not happy with the choice that you made coming over were than move back
By Isabel Oliveira from Lisbon on 15 Jul 2022, 16:25