Owners allege pets were poisoned

Pet owners have alleged that poison was deliberately sprayed onto the grass in their residential community, leading to the deaths of at least 40 dogs and 20 cats since September 12.

Residents at Nadanbao community, Hebei Province, 31 kilometers from the CBD area, allege their pets died from toxic poisoning after being walked on the grass. They accused their property management company of not warning residents there could be a safety issue.

Most of the 3,000 households in the community either work in Beijing, or are retired Beijingers.

Hebei police said Monday there was no valid evidence to launch an investigation, but they had suggested property management should hose down the lawn twice a day "just in case."

"I walked my 50-kilogram Alaskan dog last Wednesday, and when we came back it had spasms and was spitting out white foam," said Luan Shouhui Monday.

Luan said he took his 3-year-old dog, Cha Wang, to the local pet clinic and the veterinarian said there were obvious strong symptoms of poisoning that could not be treated.

"On the same day, 14 dogs died, and they all shared similar symptoms beforehand," said Luan.

A resident, surnamed Pan, who lives in the community next to Nadanbao said she had witnessed dogs "vomiting and having spasms on the lawn" while she was walking hers through the buildings.

"It looked horrible, and people in the neighborhood have serious safety concerns," said Pan.

Many residents believe that toxic chemicals were intentionally put on the lawn.

"So far, at least 40 dogs and 20 cats including stray animals were found dead," said Xia Lei, a resident who does not dare to walk his dog outside now.

"Currently, when it passes 9 pm, it's deadly silent in our community garden. Neighbors who walked dogs are gone, as well as the kids who used to run on the lawn for fun," said Xia.

On Sunday, over 20 pet owners including Luan and Xia went to the community's property management office, trying to unearth evidence from surveillance cameras and asking the management to reply to their safety concerns.

"We're not pointing fingers at anyone, though it's a fact that some residents complained to the office about the pets' waste on the lawn," said Luan.

"The most important thing is that there should have been proper measures taken after the animals' deaths, but nothing has been done up to now," said Luan.

According to Luan, some residents put up notices in the community Monday to keep people away from the lawn but it was quickly covered up.

He alleged that an employee from the property management office told residents they would be fined 1,000 yuan ($158) if the notice is seen again.

On Monday, an anonymous office employee said they had nothing to do with the case and hung up the phone.

A police officer, surnamed Zhang, from Yanjiao township police station, Hebei Province, confirmed they received a report last Wednesday about the animals, but said that no evidence was provided to prove the poisoning.

"Some alleged the dogs were poisoned by cyanide, and some had other opinions, but since the victims were animals instead of people, the residents are obliged to have the autopsies done," said Zhang.

Zhang said they also could not think of any proper local institution at which to have the dead animals examined.

"The police set conditions on the animals that could be examined, like saying they could not be strays, and must be one of those they received a report about last Wednesday," said Xia.

"But how could the owner keep the dead pet for so many days?" said Xia.

Luan said Monday they were considering offering a reward to call for witnesses to catch the suspects, after the police and property administration had failed them.

"We can't just watch until some more animals or even people get hurt," said Luan.