Two families say their dogs have been poisoned at one of Saskatoon's off-leash parks. One of the dogs, a five-year-old basset hound named Norman, died on Monday night after visiting the Avalon dog park at the end of Broadway Avenue. The other animal is recovering after falling sick after visiting the same park on Friday.

Renae Goudal owned the basset hound. She said the dog started showing unusual signs as soon as he got into the car after their walk.

"I looked back at him and his eyes were twitching and he was looking out the window. It was just odd, an odd stance in the car."

They arrived home, and she was sitting on the deck when the dog started having seizures, shaking and showing signs of choking. Goudal couldn't find anything it its mouth. So she quickly took the animal to her veterinarian. They tried to treat the dog but he died that evening.

On Monday, the veterinarian told Goudal the symptoms were consistent with strychnine poisoning. But on Wednesday Dr. Teresa Chu said test results came back that ruled out strychnine poisoning and for now the case is unresolved. She noted that the animal may still have been poisoned by another source, including naturally occurring toxins.

I just feel it was at the dog park because he was immediately sick after that and he was good when we got there. - Renae Goudal, dog owner

"I still think it's poison. Even if it's natural or unnatural, it's still a toxin. Something poisoned him," Goudal said.

She is hoping to have a necropsy on the animal to get conclusive results.

"I lost my dog, I don't want anyone else to lose theirs."

Someone posted a sign at the park that read, "Sept. 21, A dog died of poison found at this dog park tonight."

When CBC visited the park on Tuesday, the sign was torn down and thrown in the garbage.

The possibility of poisoning in the park is unsettling for dog owners who frequent the park.

"To see something like that is kind of frightening because you don't expect for people to be out here doing that kind of stuff," Sarai Aguiler said.

"It's not something you want, to be coming here to walk your dog and be afraid something is going to happen to them 'cause they're a member of your family, right?"



On Wednesday, the city issued a released asking dog owners to take extra precautions when they take their pets to the Avalon Dog Park, even though there has been no confirmation of any poisonous material in the park. The park was inspected and nothing out of the ordinary was found. The city said it does not use poisons in any of the city's dog parks.