CALDWELL -- Fourteen stock and guard dogs in southwestern Idaho have been poisoned and 12 have died as a result of the same type of chemical. It's not something that Dr. Brent Varriale says he sees at his Fruitland veterinary clinic very often.
“We see a case of strychnine poisoning maybe once a year, maybe not even that often,” said Varriale.
The four dogs he inspected had green dyed grain in their stomachs, which appeared to be gopher bait that contained strychnine. The vet says it is likely the poisonings were intentional.
“We have treated several others successfully and then unfortunately had to do necropsies on several others that have not survived,” said Varriale.
Strychnine causes paralysis and eventually death by suffocation.
“A really unpleasant way for an animal to suffer and die,” said Varriale.
According to Varriale, the amount of strychnine found in the stomachs of the dogs who died, far exceeds what would be needed to kill a rodent.
“In one of the dogs we actually found it mixed with some sort of ground meat, raw ground meat so it's my suspicion that that was used to entice the dogs to eat the gopher bait,” said Varriale.
The Canyon County Sheriff's Office confirmed that it is investigating this case but declined an interview. Under Idaho State Law, it is a felony to intentionally poison an agriculture animal worth more than $1,000. Working dogs like the ones killed range in value from $1,500 to $2,500.
“There was some kelpies, Anatolian Shepherds, Great Pyrenees, you know, typical stock type dogs,” said Varriale.
At the Snake River Veterinary Center, the concern is not with criminal charges but with putting an end to the suffering of any more innocent animals.
“Our main thing is we would just like to see it stop," said Varriale. "To have that many dogs die from something like that is very disturbing."
All of the dogs were owned by Casey Echevarria and used to guard and shepherd sheep and goats.
Since we aired this story, the Humane Society of the United States is now offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for poisoning the dogs.