Police probe Kingston dog poisoning

Police say three dogs were killed and two were made ill by someone who threw poisoned meat in an Academy Road man’s backyard.

By: Joseph Harvie
   Someone fed antifreeze-soaked hamburgers to five dogs that belong to an Academy Road resident Monday, three of which died the next day.
   The dogs’ owner, James Dexter, is treasurer of Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue in Tennessee. Mr. Dexter also rescues other breeds of dogs from across the country and Canada.
   He said Thursday that brother and sister Yorkshire terriers, Fred and Ginger, and Blue, a dapple and dachshund mix, died from the poisoning.
   Norman, a dachshund, sustained permanent kidney damage, and Schatzel, a dachshund, and Sassafras a Newfoundland mix, were treated at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital. He said Sassafras did not eat the poisoned meat but was treated as a precaution.
   "Blue used to sleep beside me every night," Mr. Dexter said as he started to cry on the phone. "And Fred and Ginger would sleep next to Cheryl every night."
   Mr. Dexter said the incident occurred after he left Sunday morning for a business trip to Georgia. He said that he had left a chain around the gate to his backyard when he left but did not lock it.
   When his wife, Cheryl, woke up later that day the gate was opened, Mr. Dexter said.
   When Ms. Dexter woke up Tuesday, Blue appeared to be dead and Fred was convulsing. She then drove the dogs to the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital.
   "When Cheryl got there, Ginger was already dead and Fred was moved into the critical care unit, but there was nothing they could do," Mr. Dexter said.
   Mr. Dexter said he spoke to his wife and took the first plane back to Newark International Airport.
   While he was flying back, the Dexters’ neighbors drove Ms. Dexter back to Kingston, where she found Blue having convulsions. As a precaution, she also brought Norman, Sassafras, Schatzel and Blue to the hospital.
   "At this point I drove immediately to Red Bank from Newark Airport and went into the emergency room, and Blue was lying on the table with tubes in him," Mr. Dexter said again crying on the phone. "We had to have him put down."
   All of the dogs except for Sassafras tested positive for ethylene glycol, or antifreeze, Mr. Dexter said.
   "Schatzel is the oldest one," Mr. Dexter said. "She’s an old tough gal and seems to have come through OK. We’re hoping to get Sassafras and Schatzel home as soon as possible, but Norman has to be hooked up to IVs a little longer."
   Mr. Dexter said he doesn’t know who would have done this to his dogs. He said he is friendly with his neighbors and most of them also have dogs. He said the dogs are never left outside unsupervised and if they begin to bark they are brought into the house immediately.
   South Brunswick police spokesman Detective James Ryan said police are following leads, but they are asking for the public’s help in finding the culprit. Anyone with any information should contact Detective Ryan at (732) 329-4000 ext. 7448.