LAKE ELMO, Minn. — It started off as a normal Sunday walk for Lake Elmo resident John Murphy when he spotted something unusual.
"It was this morning, I was taking my walk around the park and I noticed that there were multiple squirrels dead," said Murphy. "None of them were moving or anything, and none of them looked like they were damaged in any way from what I could tell, hit by cars or torn up by animals."
But he's not the only one.
In just the past week, Companion Animal Control - which represents Washington County in Minnesota, and parts of Wisconsin - says they've seen more than a dozen cases involving the poisoning and death of animals. That includes five cats, three dogs and seven squirrels in Baytown Township, Hugo and the Lake Elmo area.
"I decided to take a picture and I posted it on the Facebook page for our park here, and just said it seemed like something really odd," said Murphy. "I’ve seen other messages where other people have noticed their dogs have mysteriously died."
An animal control officer with Companion Animal Control says the symptoms for the dogs were consistent with ingesting poison, but says too much time has passed to complete a necropsy.
They went on to say several of the cats vomited green rodent poisoning pellets and displayed signs of being poisoned.
While no evidence was found of intentional poisoning on private property in the reported cases, they say it's safe to assume, as it gets colder, more people put rodent poison around their property to prevent them from coming inside.
"It just seemed really odd, that's why I took the picture," said Murphy.
As neighbors like John Murphy work to raise awareness, they're urging others to speak up if they see anything out of the normal, to prevent this from happening to another animal.
"If you see something unusual, don't be afraid to mention it to other people," said Murphy.
Companion Animal Control is urging the public to watch their animals very closely when outside, and encourage walking them on a leash to prevent them from eating a potential poison.
They also encourage owners not to leave animals unattended. They say if you suspect your animal has been poisoned intentionally, immediately go to a veterinarian and contact the department to prompt an investigation.
The department included a few common signs of poisoning to look out for:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Drooling/hypersalivating
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Coughing of blood
- Vomiting blood
- Pale gums
- A racing heart rate
- Weakness or lethargy
- Collapsing