Dog eats poisoned McDonald’s at Bob Saker Oval, Forest Hill
When Saffy the miniature schnauzer got into a discarded bag of McDonald’s food at a Forest Hill dog park, his owner thought nothing of it and threw the rubbish in the bin. But what the canine found in it has left him fighting for life.
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A dog is fighting for life after falling victim to a deliberate act of poisoning at an off-lead dog park in Melbourne’s east.
Nine-year-old Saffy got into a bag of McDonald’s food left in the centre of the cricket pitch at Forest Hill’s Bob Saker Oval, which had been filled with rat bait.
His owner, who does not want to be named, took the bag from him and threw it in the bin, but she didn’t know the scraps had been poisoned until the miniature schnauzer cross cairn terrier fell seriously ill days later.
Saffy’s fate is still in doubt, despite 40 hours in intensive veterinary care, after eating the baited McDonald’s about noon on Thursday, August 1.
The vet confirmed Saffy had ingested rat bait.
“We still don’t know if he’ll make it,” his owner said.
She has no doubt the bait was deliberately planted to target dogs at the park.
“I believe the person did this intentionally and discreetly at a dog park in a way that it wasn’t easy to see and they could get away,” she said.
The dog owner has been visiting the park for eight years and was unaware if there had been any similar incidents.
“I have no idea why someone would intentionally hurt a random animal,” she said.
“They didn’t even care which dog got hurt, it was just malicious. It is beyond me.”
Frightened dog owners have taken to social media to warn other park users about the incident.
Sharon Koupparis said people needed to know to be “extra vigilant with their four-legged babies” after the “despicable and cowardly act”.
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“Hundreds of people use this oval when they’re not playing cricket as it’s completely enclosed and safe for their pets,” Ms Koupparis said.
Another park user took to Facebook to warn she had found a collection of tablets on the ground at the dog park in the past few weeks.
Forest Hill Acting Senior Sergeant Andrew Rodwell said police were investigating the baiting incident and officers would increase their patrols of the dog park to prevent any future offending.
“It’s just a disgusting act, if it was intentional,” he said.
Acting Sen-Sgt Rodwell said he was not aware of any similar incidents at the park but said, as a dog person, he always tried to be careful about what his dogs ate when they were out.
“If there’s idiots out there you’ve just got to be careful,” he said.
Whitehorse Council general manager corporate services Peter Smith said the council wasn’t aware of any similar incidents at Bob Sakey Oval, which had been an off-lead dog park for more than 20 years.