It’s been one month since Sylvia Lister said goodbye to her dog, Charlie.
“He was a cute boy. He loved us,” said Lister, as she looks back at old photos of him.
She believes someone poisoned her dog, who was only five at the time, with anti-freeze months ago after she noticed he began vomiting excessively in January, then died a few weeks later.
“Who did it? Why? What did Charlie do to die?” Lister keeps asking herself.
“There was no need,” she added, wiping away tears from her eyes.
She said she spent $5,000 getting him tested and a veterinarian told her there was anti-freeze in his system.
“It’s hard to believe that someone attacked my dog. Like I wasn’t…I didn’t think of that. I thought maybe he was sick. But no, he was poisoned,” she said.
This week, she put up posters around her neighbourhood raising awareness of the situation and people took notice, including local resident and dog owner Eric Porcher.
“Oh, we were horrified to think that somebody could possibly poison a dog. Dogs are family members. They’re precious. It’s like having a child,” he said.
He said he’s now worried for the safety of his dog Daisy.
“It demands next level of precaution,” he said.
Police said they were notified in February just before Charlie died, but they weren’t able to determine if he had been deliberately poisoned and they have no suspects.
They also said there were concerns about a possible neighbour dispute.
They’re no longer actively investigating the case.
Lister says she has little hope in finding out what happened, but won’t give up trying.
“Life goes on,” she said. “We’re going to remember the happy times.”
Tahmina Aziz
