More than a dozen wildlife animals, including family pets, have mysteriously died on a popular hiking trail.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department recovered a total of 14 dead coyotes, three javelina and a raven on a walking route near the Pantano Wash river about 30 minutes from the Tucson city center over the past weekend, KVOA News 4 reported.
Local dogs have also been found, devastating owners who say their beloved canine companions did not deserve such a grim and sudden end.
The most likely theory behind deaths is a poisonous substance being purposely spread throughout the park.
‘I suspect the poison is either strychnine or another fast-acting poison based on the appearance of the stomach contents,’ Dr. Anne Justice-Allen, a wildlife veterinarian for the department said in a release, according to the outlet.
Fritz Neuhauser, a resident who has lived in the Eastside for the last 40 years, started realizing something was wrong on January 21 when he discovered a dead coyote and three dead javelinas on his property, KVOA-TV reported.
From then on, he began encountering more and more dead animals as he took his beloved dog Luigi on his daily off-leash runs – seven coyotes and a raven by the end of the week.
The devastating finds led Neuhauser to contact Arizona Game and Fish where together they found more than a dozen other animals dead.
‘This, with 14 or more animals, this is not normal,’ Tarah Clark, the department’s Tucson Wildlife Manager, told KVOA. ‘We believe that whoever is doing this is intentionally putting out poison targeting wildlife.’
Just days after the first few animals were found, Luigi tragically went missing while on a walk.
Neuhauser was walking with his neighbor at the time, whose dogs also went missing.
‘We got really upset and were really looking,’ Neuhauser told KOLD 13 News. ‘It was probably 30, 40 minutes into it when my friend got a phone call and another dog walker had found his dog dead on the trail.’
The neighbor told Neuhauser that his dog ultimately had to be euthanized after it was found, KVOA reported.
In an extremely worried state, Neuhauser frantically tried to track down Luigi using an air tag. He ended up getting a ping, but was unable to locate his dog.
It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon when the heartbreaking news came to light – Luigi was among the animals who were killed.
‘I got another ping. Only the second ping in four days,’ Neuhauser told KOLD. ‘Somebody had walked near enough to my dog. I saw it on the satellite and came down and I found my dog.
‘He was such a good dog, such a friendly and happy dog,’ he told WSAZ 3 News in tears. ‘He did not deserve this.’
A third person reported that his dog is in recovery at the veterinarian after it had ingested poison, according to KVOA.
Wildlife officials conducted a necropsy on one of the javelinas and determined that the poison was most likely placed in food as a way to attract both wildlife and family pets on the trail.
An investigation is underway where officials are looking for materials or bait sites used in the sickening acts, though none have been located so far.
Additional samples from the deceased animals are set to be tested at a veterinary diagnostic lab.
Pet owners are being warned to take extra precautions.
‘This is a popular area for residents to hike with their dogs,’ the department said in a release.
‘Dog owners are advised to keep their pets on a leash, and keep them from picking up anything on the trail or in the wash.’
Signs of possible poisoning to keep an eye out for include salivation, seizures and sudden collapse.
‘If a pet eats anything off the ground in the area, owners should seek immediate veterinary care for the pet as the poison acts quickly,’ officials warned.
Anyone who comes across dead wildlife or other abnormal behavior in wildlife is highly encouraged to contact the agency’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-352-0700.
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