A report in today’s Baltimore Sun discusses a rash of animal poisonings all connected to a dog park. Unfortunately in the world we live in it’s not uncommon to hear about animals being poisoned by neighbors or out of just plain meanness, but this is the first time I can recall hearing about a park being the scene of this awful crime. The dog park in question is Toronto Canada’s High Park and according to the report the park has been forced to close after it was discovered that antifreeze was being poured into communal water buckets. The buckets are set out and kept full of water so that dogs who visit the park can stay hydrated. Officials also believe that the same person who spiked the watering troughs is responsible for leaving wheat break laced with antifreeze in different areas of the park.

Authority’s began looking into the recent poisoning after six dogs that had visited the park had gotten sick (sadly two of which passed away). Though some believe that raccoons were the intended victims and that the dogs were never the targets of the poisonings, at this point no one is definitely sure of the reasons behind the attacks. The Baltimore Sun quotes one official as saying, “Maybe it's hard for folks to understand who haven't had a pet but you can't avoid it -- they soon enough become a member of your family. This is very difficult for families to cope with and there's something fundamentally wrong with society if you can't take your family pet for a walk in a public park and not be concerned about somehow endangering your pet.”