‘Lost my best mate’: Heartbreak after Toowoomba family dog allegedly baited

After more than 300 Toowoomba animals were poisoned in the past year, a Toowoomba family’s dog is allegedly the latest animal to fall victim to the cruel crime.

A Toowoomba family has been struck down with grief after their dog Bindi died from an alleged poisoning while in her yard at South Toowoomba.

The dog’s owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said she woke on Sunday, October 8, and found the three-year-old rottweiler-cross at her back door frothing from her mouth, struggling to breathe, and vomiting.

Beloved family rottweiler-cross Bindi, died after allegedly being baited at her South Toowoomba home at the weekend.

Luckily another dog that had been in the yard was not as ill as Bindi and is still recovering.

The young mum said she rushed Bindi, who also had a swollen face and could not walk, to the vet but it was too late.
“I’ve lost my best mate, it’s horrendous, and the way she died was horrific,” she said.

“She fought and she fought, Herriot House didn’t even think she would make it to REDVets, but she did.

“By the time I got her to the Range Vet her tongue had turned black and they said they were going to have to put her down.”

She said Bindi had vomited up food she never gave her dogs, alongside some kind of tablet that had turned into a paste.

“She grew up to be like a kid, like one of my own, and someone has (allegedly) taken her away from me in cold blood,” she said.

“We just need to find out who’s done it because I know there had been a lot of baiting in this area.

“What if my kids had been out there and picked something up and put it in their mouth?”

The mother of two said she feared the baiting was a personal attack, as the council was called to her home two weeks prior after receiving a community complaint.

The Toowoomba mum said Bindi had a belly of food in the morning despite not being fed the night before.

Toowoomba environment and community Cr Tim McMahon urged the community to report any suspected baiting incidents to the Queensland Police Service and RSPCA.

“Although Toowoomba Regional Council has not received any reports of this incident or other complaints of baiting over the past two years, it is a timely reminder to always keep a close eye on your pets and don’t let them eat anything on the ground,” he said.

“Dog-baiting involves setting poison baits for dogs in an appealing treat.

“The initial symptoms of poisoning in dogs can include vomiting, agitation, and diarrhoea.”

A RSPCA spokesman said over the past financial year 354 baiting incidents were logged across the state.

The spokesman urged community members to call RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) if they suspected their animals had been baited, or if a sick or injured animal had been found.