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Bothell man says neighbor intentionally poisoned dog with drugs
Apr 24, 2018, 3:23 PM
Allie the boxer nearly died when she consumed meth and cocaine. Her owner believes that a neighbor intentionally tried to kill her. (Submitted photo)
(Submitted photo)
Jeremy* walked in the door of his Bothell home after work one evening, expecting the usual excited greeting from his boxers, Allie and Jackson.
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But to his horror, Allie was lying on the floor, her left paw twitching frantically back and forth.
“I knew something was wrong,” Jeremy told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. He described Allie’s movements as looking like she was trying to “do the ‘Hokey-Pokey.'”
Jeremy and his fiancée, Jennifer, rushed Allie to a pet emergency center in a panic. After a urine sample was taken, the vet told the couple the shocking news — Allie had consumed methamphetamine. Later tests confirmed that the boxer had also eaten amphetamines and cocaine.
Jeremy and Jennifer did not see how Allie could have accidentally gotten hold of the drugs. The dogs spend their day in the backyard, which is surrounded by a fence.
“It’s something that would have been intentionally done … Someone wasn’t just trying to play a joke on us — I feel in my gut that someone intentionally tried to kill my dog,” he said.
A house on the same street was recently sold as a Section 8 home. Jeremy said that the people who moved in are less than reputable and have already stirred up trouble in the neighborhood.
In one recent instance, the new neighbors put six bags of garbage on the street that were opened and spilled up and down the street by animals. Jeremy asked the neighbor multiple times to pick up the garbage, which escalated into an argument
“I think it does definitely have some correlation with that,” he said.
Jeremy has no concrete proof that those neighbors hurt Allie, but he and Jennifer are offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible.
“They’re lucky that I did not catch them because I’d probably be talking to you from a collect call somewhere,” he said. “I treat my dogs just like I treat my children.”
Thankfully, Allie is returning to full health. Still, Jeremy said that the close call illustrates a serious problem in the entire region. The vet said that instances of dogs consuming drugs have only increased in recent years — especially now with Snohomish County’s new policy that gives a pass to people possessing less than two grams of drugs.
“It’s sad that we should have to deal with things like this, especially with their animals,” Jeremy said. “This whole thing that people can have a little amount of drugs and not be prosecuted — it’s just free reign for criminals to be criminals and not have to worry about anything.”
*Last name not included for reasons of personal safety
