THE Jacobs family in Manaba is heartbroken after one of their three dogs died last Wednesday after being poisoned.
Pippa, a Labrador, is thought to have eaten meat laced with agricultural poison, which had been thrown into the garden.
Owner Koos Jacobs has spoken of the heartbreaking moment when he found his two-year-old dog unresponsive on the ground.
“I got up at about 6am last Wednesday and went outside. Every day when I open the door, the dogs wait patiently,” said Mr Jacobs.
He called out to them but only one of the dogs, Loxen, responded. When Mr Jacobs went around the corner of the house he found Pippa lying on the ground. He immediately knew something was wrong.
“My other dog, Belle was also missing. We found her lying in a shady part of the garden. I could see she was very weak. I woke up the family and we took the dogs to the vet. Belle was given a drip and soon recovered. Loxen was not harmed,” said Mr Jacobs. Pippa however was not so lucky and died at the surgery.
When the family returned home Mr Jacobs walked around the property and found an open container which held a white powder and meat lying in the back yard. When he smelt the powder he knew for sure that it was some sort of agricultural poison and believes that it could be phostoxin.
“My entire family is devastated, especially my children. The dogs were completely innocent, they did nothing wrong and what happened was completely mindless,” he said.
The sale of phostoxin is strictly controlled by legislation and requires entry in the poisons register.
Margate police are investigating.
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