AR-News: (US) Man: Dogs 'deserved to die'

Tue Jun 1 15:22:22 EDT 2004

Man: Dogs 'deserved to die'

Thursday, 27, 2004By Larry O'Connor

Staff Writer 
A Jackson man charged with poisoning five dogs told a police officer the dogs "deserved to die." 

On Wednesday, Robert Earl Ward, 50, was ordered to stand trial in Circuit Court on five felony counts related to the May 16 animal cruelty case. 

Four Chihuahua mixed dogs and a chow mixed breed died after their food appeared to have been doused with antifreeze, police said. The case has outraged animal lovers and drawn the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 

Ward remains in Jackson County jail in lieu of $5,000 cash surety bond. His next court date is June 22. 

At a probable cause hearing, Officer Craig Edmondson testified Ward initially denied responsibility when questioned the day of the incident. 

However, Ward later admitted he gave the dogs "antitoxins" and pointed the officer to where an empty container of antifreeze was lying outside the home at 306 Summit Ave., Edmondson said. 

Ward was living at Georgia and Jeffrey Onei's home with his brother Norman Ward and sister-in-law Paula Ward. 

His sister-in-law, who owned two of the dogs poisoned, put him in charge of watching the pets that Saturday while family members went on a camping trip in Homer. 

When Paula Ward returned Sunday, she found the chow-rotweiller mix named Casey disoriented by a water dish. 

"She could barely hold her head up," said Paula Ward, who described the animals as being like children. 

The chow-rot mix later died. Two Chihuahuas, Chico and Spuds, were taken to Northwest Veterinary Clinic, where they also died. 

On the following Monday, two more Chihuahuas, Nakita and Chakita, died after being taken to Blackman Veterinarian Hospital when they started vomiting and experienced disorientation. 

Robert Ward watched the dogs in the past, according to Georgia Onei, owner of Chico and Chakita. A sixth dog, a Chihuahua mix named Tina, didn't show effects of poisoning. 

By the time two dogs reached a vet that Sunday, they already were comatose, a veterinarian testified. 

"If you lifted up their leg, it just dropped," said Dr. Robert Sray, who practices at Northwest Veterinarian Clinic. 

Their symptoms were consistent with antifreeze poisoning, the veterinarian said. 

Tissue samples were sent to a Michigan State University veterinarian lab to be examined for traces of ethylene glycol, which is a found in antifreeze. 

The effects of ethylene glycol are lethal. To treat animals who ingest it, veterinarians use ethanol to stop the toxin from metabolizing in the blood. 

"If you can treat them one to two hours after the incident, you could save them," Sray said. 