Green community plagued by pet poisoning cases

Residents of the Green Community this week received the following alarming message from community developer Properties Investment: “We are requesting all animal owners to be aware when taking their dogs out on to the community and leaving them alone in your back yards.
One dog in the community has died and one cat has been admitted at the Noble veterinary Center at the Market Mall. We have at least 3 reports of cats falling ill due to poisoning.”

The local veterinary clinic the Noble Veterinary Centre said meanwhile two cats have been brought in to the clinic, supposedly due to poisoning. The dog has died due to poisoning too.

“These deaths were cases of poisoning,” confirmed Chady Kassis, head of marketing department of Properties Investment. “However, it is unclear whether it concerns intentional poisoning or poisoning due to the work of pesticide companies in the area.

“To confirm this, the vet needs to do autopsy on the dog that was poisoned and there was no agreement from the owner the late dog to measure.”

Suspicions are that rat poisons left around by pesticide companies might have caused the poisoning related death.

“It has hard to say what caused the poisoning without doing autopsy,” argued Chady Kassis. “But we have been working with the same pesticide company for over 9 years and we never encountered problems of this kind. They follow the guidelines set out for them by Dubai Municipality and the poison is positioned at locations where pets usually do not go,” Chady Kassis told Emirates 24l7.

Marion Koot, who has been working with stray cats for 40 years in Abu Dhabi, doubts that pesticides can lead to poisoning to this extent. “Cats do not eat poison. I find it very unlikely that a cat would approach and consume poison that is set out to minimise rats in an area.”

A much more likely option is intentional poisoning, several people told this website.

“A while ago we heard from residents about a lady who intentionally set out poison in the Greens Community because she did not like cats and dogs. Now we heard this news. We are trying to see whether it is the same case. We are investigating it,” said Giath Alfalasi, head of Inspection Department of Dubai Municipality.

“Pesticide companies are legally entitled to do this job, but spreading any other type of poison is strictly forbidden in Dubai.”

Marion commented that it would not be the first time somebody expresses his or her dislike towards pets by trying to poison them. “A couple of years ago we caught a woman spreading poisoned chunks of meat in a park in Abu Dhabi to lure animals towards their death. I would not be surprised if the same case applies here.”

Properties Investment warned in the message to community residents not to let dogs or cats be fed by anyone in the common area, to ask house keepers to make sure that the dogs are not being given any food by strangers.
“We are taking the case very seriously,” says Chady Kassis. “I am a pet owner myself and I know how it can hurt when you lose your pet.”

Properties Investment has offered to pay for autopsy might another case of death is reported in order to investigate the reason behind the poisoning.

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