KENORA -- OPP in Kenora are now investigating a possible poisoning that has left one dog dead and another injured.
Police said that on July 21 they received a report of two dogs that were in critical condition.
Kelley Morrell said his dog Penny and his daughter’s Onyx, who he’s currently taking care of, consumed something toxic while playing around his yard.
Morrell said in the summer he works late and usually lets the dogs play while he eats on his deck after he comes home. He said he noticed they kept running back and forth around his house and when they didn’t come back, he went to look for them.
“When Onyx came around the corner, she was running towards me wagging her tail and then all of a sudden she went sideways and fell down and started shaking,” said Morrell. At first, he thought Onyx was having a seizure, having experienced them in the past. But then, he added, “Penny started doing the exact same thing.”
The OPP were called. He said the cruiser drove down his driveway right away and when they asked him what was going on, he answered he thought the dogs were poisoned. “I thought it was a narcotic because they had separately dilated pupils.”
Morrell said he considered giving them naloxone, but the officer suggested they drive to a veterinarian. He said they placed both dogs into the back of cruiser and left.
“The vet met us there in Kenora, and she provided immediate care with what she thought was best for the dogs at the time,” he said. “After doing a toxicology test, she revealed that it was methamphetamine that they had ingested.”
Morrell said Onyx was the dog they were more worried about at first. “But then Penny started getting worse and then, I think, when she swallowed her own puke, she got even way worse,” he said. “She didn’t have high enough oxygen content to maintain her organs even. So it was a decision we had to make at one point, that it was probably better for her if we just let her go.”
Penny succumbed to complications due to the poisoning, said Morrell.
They took Onyx to Winnipeg for intensive care treatment said Morrell. They’ve since brought Onyx home and at first, she needed help to eat and drink. He added, “but since then, [Wednesday] was the first day she actually was walking and drinking on her own. So, she’s shown a vast improvement over the last two days, which is a miracle.”
We’re very happy for that,” said Morrell. “We’re still very sad about not having Penny around because she was a very special part of our lives.”
Penny would have turned three in October and came into Morrell’s life as an unmanageable rescue dog. He said she became a best friend to nine-year-old Onyx, who was very protective of her. “They were just two peas in a pod.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family defray the cost of veterinary care. Morrell said the cost of just the veterinary care has been about $6,000 and there are more expenses to come.
Morrell said he’s grateful and humbled for the kind and compassionate words and actions of the community. “It was truly overwhelming, the outpouring of love and support.“
He said any money raised over the cost of the care will go to a local dog rescue organization.
The OPP investigation continues.
