Irish setter dies from bad meat at dog show
LONDON — Tasty cubes of beef would tempt any dog, let alone one sitting patiently on the stand during public viewing at Crufts, Britain’s premier dog show. But instead of a treat, one owner says, a deadly surprise was sewn into the meat: slug killer.
Jagger, a three-year-old Irish Setter, collapsed and died after leaving the show with a bellyful of poisoned beef, leaving his owners distraught and triggering a canine whodunit.
The dog, also known as Thendara Satisfaction, died Friday shortly after returning to his home in Belgium from the Crufts show in Birmingham, England. A postmortem examination found the poisoned slug killer cubes in his stomach, said Jeremy Bott, one of Jagger’s co-owners.
The only time Jagger was unattended and could have been poisoned was when he was on the stand for public viewing, his owners said — but they refused to believe that another competitor could have done such a thing.
That still leaves the question: who would kill a dog show contestant and why?
Bott said he believes the poisoner is someone who bears a grudge against dogs in general or the Crufts show in particular, but not Jagger himself.
Police in Belgium and Britain are aware of the incident, but authorities said they have not been asked to investigate. The Kennel Club, which organizes Crufts, said it is awaiting a toxicology report on Jagger’s stomach contents before deciding what action to take.
The Kennel Club issued a second statement Monday after reports that another dog had fallen ill after Crufts.
No vets have raised concerns about poisoning at the show and “there have been no official complaints from any owners at Crufts 2015,” the club said.
Crufts is Britain’s most famous dog event, attracting more than 21,000 competitors from 43 countries this year. It was founded in 1891, about 14 years after New York’s Westminster dog show.