GALION — Two family dogs have died in incidents police are terming “foul play,” and authorities believe they could be linked.
The dogs were killed in separate incidents on June 17 and 19, Galion police chief Brian Saterfield said.
“One dog was killed with rat poison, according to the veterinarian and the other died of foul play,” the chief said, without specifying the cause of death.
Saterfield said he suspects the deaths are related.
“We believe someone is driving around and maliciously doing this to dogs,” he said.
The two victims lived at separate addresses, but shared a common neighborhood. Both dogs were taken to Horizon Animal Hospital and were cared for by veterinarian Matt Glass.
Glass said the city has never seen multiple dog killings like this before.
He described the rat-poison victim as having severe purple bruises on its chest, and a nose bleed. When performing an autopsy on the deceased dog, he found a lot of blood in the chest cavity.
Glass said the symptoms of eating rat poison can take up to a week to show. He said dogs who have eaten rat poison can have teal flecks in their stool.
Saterfield says his department has no leads or suspects for the deaths.
“We ask for people to look for anyone doing anything suspicious around their dogs. If they see something, report it,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Galion Police Department at 419-468-9111.
