04-15-2008, 01:45 PM
quote:That letter appeared on dozens of doors and was posted on lamppost in that same area. It prompted dozens of calls to the sheriff, police, humane society and elected officials. Local veterinarians reported a rise in calls about ethylene glycol poisoning along with people bringing in pets suspected of ingesting the liquid and suffering from it’s effects. Residents were so afraid they started keeping their pets inside or monitoring their movements to prevent them from leaving their property. For a few months, pet owners lived in fear of their beloved pets going into someone yard and getting poisons. Community leaders even held meetings to address the fear and concern along with tips and suggestions for keeping pets safe.
Originally posted by Royall
I like the way Bob thinks on this subject too![][}
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It also pitted neighbor against neighbor. Some owners with free roaming pets were being told that it’s not a problem if they keep their animals confined and out of other people yards. People started telling of finding animal feces in their yards, how neighborhood cats were using children sandboxes as litter boxes. Even discussions about killing cats made its way into a community meeting.
From time to time someone would leave an empty antifreeze container sitting on the mailboxes. One person who had cats they occasionally had let roam free even after the scare found a bowl of water with some green/yellow food dye just sitting at their front door. They have kept their cats confined since.
To this day, fears of someone actually doing this or a copycat doing it in secret haunts the community. I know the letter was determined to be false, but the message was delivered.