CINCINNATI -- Pets are being poisoned in one Cincinnati neighborhood, and police are looking for the culprit. In the meantime, families who live near Steiner Street are being asked to keep their pets inside to protect them from meeting the same fate.
With signs in hand, pet lovers from all over Cincinnati stood along River Road Friday night to protest the recent spate of pet deaths in Sedamsville.
“I have lost half my family, and they were babies,” said Shari Ward, who said 23 cats and a dog have died as a result of the poisonings. “They were my babies.”
Dr. Millie Shafer, the director of Neighborhood Cat Helpers, said only four cats have survived after being poisoned.
“I have never ever seen anything like this,” she said. “It’s a very frightening, terrifying experience because these animals crash and die so quickly, you can’t even get them to an emergency vet.”
SPCA Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Police Department are both investigating several of the poisoning cases.
“It think it’s unusual that you have a concentration of alleged poisonings of animals in a concentrated area, specifically in one neighborhood,” said Lieutenant Steve Saunders.
Shari Ward said a neighbor approached her with a jar of rat poison and threatened her pets back in May. Days later, they started dying.
Lieutenant Brandon Corcoran of SPCA Cincinnati said a woman did make the threats, but right now, there is no proof of a connection between that incident and the deaths.
Neighbors said there’s a $2000 reward out there for anyone who has information that would lead to a conviction.
If you think you can help, you can call Crime Stoppers or SPCA Cincinnati with any tips.
