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A Queensland woman who has lost two dogs to baiting fears there could be an even more sinister motive behind the incidents than first appears.
Teneal Buttigieg found her seven-month-old sausage dog Dobby unconscious in the backyard of her Townsville home two weeks ago. Her other dog, Boof, was struggling to breathe.
Boof survived but vets were unable to save Dobby.
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“It was pretty gut-wrenching. You don’t even get a chance to say goodbye,” Buttigieg told 7NEWS.
An autopsy revealed Dobby had eaten a ball of minced meat laced with poppy seeds.
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The seeds are toxic to dogs and vets told Buttigieg it is a “very common way for people to bait dogs now”.
In April last year, she lost her young jack russell-cross, Daisy, also to baiting.
Months later, her home was broken into and her valuables and car stolen.
She has spoken to local police and was told the incidents could be linked.
Townsville resident Teneal Buttigieg lost her seven-month-old sausage dog Dobby to baiting. Credit: 7NEWS
According to Buttigieg, police say there have been “waves” of baiting incidents then, after a “few weeks, the wave of break-ins comes”.
“And that’s when they (intruders) get in, because there are no dogs to bark,” she said.
She says she has lost more than $10,000 in vet bills and stolen property across the incidents.
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