Neighbors leery about strange dog ailments

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The Boston Globe

By LaMont Calloway

TYNGSBOROUGH -- Why are pet dogs around Long Pond dying or falling ill? Residents who live on and near the popular 1,700-acre swimming hole have been looking for answers for nearly a month.

And now police and animal-rights advocates are looking into the deaths or illnesses of as many as seven dogs whose owners live within a few hundred feet of each other.

``We are investigating with animal control and the MSPCA," Richard Burrows, deputy chief of police, said last night. He declined to comment further.

Tyngsborough is a town of about 11,000 people in the northwest corner of Middlesex County, on the New Hampshire border. Long Pond is lined with single-family houses, several of which have small boats behind them, tethered to docks that jut into the water, which ranges from 6 to 15 feet deep.

Residents said the issue is both baffling and upsetting. Some said they feel as if they've lost relatives.

``I know what it's like," said Cin-dy Dionne , 48, whose 4-year-old Boston terrier Cisco survived a poisoning in mid-June. ``They're not just animals, they're like your kids," she said.

Residents say many of the dogs have similar symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, lethargic behavior, and loss of appetite.

Theories behind the unexplained illnesses and deaths include the dogs consuming antifreeze, wild berries, or toxins from the pond, where neighbors said the town has used weed-killer. But many residents say they believe the dogs are being deliberately poisoned.

While children splashed in the pond yesterday afternoon, the mood among some people on Alden Street -- especially pet owners -- mirrored the day's cloudy and gloomy weather.

``It's unbelievable, because it's only in this district over here," said Dionne's mother, Doris Lavore, 79.

Dionne took Cisco to the veterinarian in mid-June after he had ventured outside in pouring rain, which he seldom did. Lavore said that in a matter of days Cisco also became less energetic and his body began contorting.

``They did some blood work and did three tests, and it was confirmed that it was a chemical poisoning," said Dionne, whose house on Alden Street backs up to the pond. ``He was on strong antibiotics, and I'm just glad he's OK."

Maxine, the 13-year-old boxer-beagle mix of neighbor Linda Vieira, was put to sleep June 15 after Vieira said Maxine began losing her appetite, shredding curtains, and hiding more often.

``The vet explained to us that (Maxine) was probably trying to hide to die," Vieira, 56, said. ``They told us it was probably time to put her down because she was 13."

When Vieira heard that other local dogs might have been poisoned, she wanted tests done on Maxine to determine the cause of her behavior. But Maxine's body had been frozen for four days and doctors said no tests could be done.

``She was the neighborhood dog. Very lively. Everybody loved her," Vieira said. ``She had a few more years left in her."

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating the possibility of poisoning, but it is not limiting the search for possible causes, according to Peter Gollub , director of law enforcement for the MSPCA.

``At this point, there isn't clear evidence that the illness of the dogs are related," Gollub said. Gollub said reports of animal poisoning are not rare but that poisoning animals is a felony worth of up to five years in prison.

Dr. Richard Williams of Belvidere Veterinary Hospital in Lowell said the dogs might have consumed toxins, parasites, or weed killer from the water. Williams, who did not treat any of the dogs, also said the symptoms are common signs of parvo virus, a deadly virus that can be transmitted through feces. But he said there have been no significant threats of the virus this summer.

``Many different things can cause these symptoms and without doing diagnostic testing, it would be hard to narrow down the cause of the symptoms in these dogs," Williams said. ``It may just be a coincidence."