Harborough dog owners urged to be vigilant following suspected poisonings in Welland Park

Harborough dog owners have been urged to be vigilant after suspected poisonings in Welland Park.

A ten-year-old Labrador died recently, with its owner saying an autopsy revealed it passed away after eating chicken laced with poison.

The owner said she had not given the dog any chicken and believes her pet ate the meat on a walk at Welland Park.

Two other owners have since come forward to say they believe their dogs were poisoned too, with the meat suspected to have been placed on the towpath near the canal.

Local dog owner Clare Sagar spoke to the woman whose Labrador died after the pair bumped into each other at a local pet shop.

Claire told the Harborough Mail: “The lady recognised me as we walk in the same area. She told me the other week her dog was walked to the park. Both her dogs went in the dog run but four hours later one of them was in a really bad way.

“She rushed it to the vets but they couldn’t even get the dog out of the car. It had to be put to sleep in the car as its organs were failing quickly.

“An autopsy found poisoned chicken in the stomach. The lady confirmed that she hadn’t fed the dog chicken at all.”

Clare – who walks her two French Bulldog pups in the area – is calling on dog owners to take care when out walking with their pets.

She added: “Be vigilant when walking your dogs in these areas. It’s scary and everyone is on edge.

“My babies eat everything they find so they definitely not having any free run time at the moment. If anything happened to them I’d be devastated.”

Harborough District Council says it has not received any reports of poisoning and is urging owners whose dogs have been affected to get in touch.

A spokesman said: “We regularly carry out routine patrols of the area and have not received any reports of dogs being poisoned in Welland Park.

“We would encourage anyone who thinks their dog might have been poisoned to seek veterinary advice, report it to us and to the police.”