No Poison Found In Meatballs Left Last Month Near Dog Park: Sonoma County Animal Services

Eight meatballs that were found last month near a dog park in west Santa Rosa did not contain any poisons harmful to people or pets, Sonoma County Animal Services said this afternoon.

The meatballs were sent to a lab at the University of California at Davis to determine if they contained poison and a “multitude of tests” were done over the past two weeks, said Brian Whipple, interim director and supervising animal control officer.

A citizen contacted Sonoma County Animal Services on Sept. 20 about suspicious substances left in the dog park area of A Place to Play on West Third Street, Whipple said.

[Previous: Sonoma County Animal Services Sends Meatballs Found at Santa Rosa Dog Park To Lab For Testing.]

Animal Control officers collected eight meatballs from a fenced-in, off-leash dog park area and wooded trail, Whipple said.

“These findings are a relief in this particular situation, however, Sonoma County Animal Services still urges that anyone that frequents any of the parks in the community keep a watchful eye out and not allow your dogs to eat anything that you did not provide,” Whipple said.

Whipple advised dog owners to walk their dogs on a leash before releasing them in off-leash areas before letting them run loose and abiding by leash laws to improve the safety of their pets.

If you do notice anything in the parks that is suspicious, please call and file a report with Sonoma County Animal Services 707-565-7100.

There were incidents of potentially poison-laced meatballs in the Twin Peaks and Richmond districts of San Francisco in February.

In July 2013, a dachshund named Oskar died after eating a suspected poison meatball in the Twin Peaks area.

--Bay City News

--Image via Sonoma County Animal Services on Facebook.