Who is poisoning dogs in Snohomish County?

Jason adopted Julia when she was five years old from an East Coast dog rescue. The hound dog didn’t have a good start in life, but he aimed to make it better. And for the brief time they had together, Julia’s life was pretty good.

“She was about 5 when we got her. We got her on Dec. 27 of 2014, and we put her down on Jan. 2 of 2016,” said Jason, a listener to the Dori Monson Show.

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Julia came to Jason after suffering years of abuse. She had broken teeth and scars, and was underweight. She spent every day with Jason since then, coming to work with him. Her weight improved, and she became a member of the family.

But recently, Julia became one of a handful of dogs that were poisoned in Snohomish County after visiting area parks. Park officials have increased patrols after one dog died and three took ill after visiting the Willis Tucker dog park over the past few months, according to KIRO7. Officials believe that someone poisoned meatballs and left them out for dogs at the park.

Jason believes Julia’s death is the second one that can be attributed to the poisonings, though the pair visited another Snohomish County park &#8212 Tambark Creek Park.

“She came with me to work every day and we go by the park when it would open, at lunch and after work,” he said.
“But Julia began a quick decline after a recent visit to the park.

“On Christmas Eve she was very lethargic, on Christmas day I suspected something was wrong,” Jason said. “We took her to the vet clinic on the day after Christmas &#8212 the first business day they were open. They said, ‘this dog has been poisoned.’ I said, ‘I’m sure you are mistaken, the dog is with me, literally, all day long.'”

The vet took tests, which eventually proved that Julia had been poisoned, he said. Unfortunately, the tests took longer than Julia had.

Jason was at a loss as to how his dog died &#8212 until recently. Shortly after Julia passed away, he adopted another dog from the same East Coast rescue. And one of the first things he did was bring it to Tambark Creek Park. This time, however, he was greeted with a big sign warning of the recent poisonings. It was the first time he was able to piece together the full picture of what happened to Julia.

“Needless to say, we haven’t gone back,” Jason said.

He hopes that the culprit can be found and law enforcement can take action. He has a few ideas of what should happen to them.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that,” Jason said. “I guess it’s not for me to decide. I’ve never felt hate for an individual or a desire to capitally punish a human until yesterday. It’s devastating.”