Winnipeg woman warns pet owners of poison in north end

A Winnipeg family is looking for answers after their dogs got severely sick on the weekend resulting in one of the canines dying.

Luka Zigic told CBC News her dogs were healthy before she took them for a walk near her home on Smithfield Avenue.

But after the walk her older dog Chloe started having seizures.

"Within two minutes the shaking was so intense she wasn't able to be on her paws," said Zigic. "She was falling over."

Later that day her other dog, 10-month-old Prince, also became very sick .

Zigic took the animals to get checked by a veterinarian, but despite her efforts 12-year-old Chloe died. Prince survived, but his recovery is still not certain.

The veterinarian that examined the dogs said they may have ingested Strychnine, a poison used to kill rodents, said Zigic.

"It's terrifying, it's really scary to think that in your community, where you feel safe, where your children, your sister and your dog is playing all the time, you normally think it's a safe place," she said.

Zigic and her family is now putting up posters in her neighbourhood to warn other pet owner.

"We just thought it was so incredibly important to make people aware of what was going on," she said. "We know that pretty much everyone of our neighbours has a cat or a dog."

She is also asking anyone who may know how this incident may have happened to come forward.

Zigic has contacted police about what happened.

Dog poisoning happened before

Winnipegger, Cindy Brazer, told CBC News three years ago, her two dogs got sick too.

A veterinarian told her it was arsenic poisoning.

"It was horrible and brought back all types of horrible memories," said Brazer after hearing of the recent incident. "I know how they are feeling."