Residents of a cell home park in Green worry that somebody is attempting to poison dozens of cats that roam the park with a substance believed to be antifreeze.
A inexperienced liquid was just lately placed in places all through Sandy Beach Trailer Park. As little as a half-teaspoon of antifreeze can kill a cat or canine — and ingesting the substance presents lethal dangers to individuals, too.
Cameryn Kennedy, director The Humane Bean rescue, mentioned her organization grew to become conscious of the difficulty after a resident contacted a volunteer for the Wayne County organization.
“We had a name that there was an overpopulation (of cats) there about three weeks in the past,” Kennedy mentioned in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Kennedy mentioned Humane Bean did a follow-up investigation and visited the park Feb. 23, discovering about 50 bowls of the green-colored substance.
10 quarts of suspected antifreeze collected
A volunteer collected the bowls and placed the obvious antifreeze in a big plastic container. More than 10 quarts have been collected.
The organization additionally filed a report with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Ohio regulation prohibits poisoning home animals, together with felines and dogs, and imposes extreme penalties on these convicted of the offense.
Kennedy made up a flyer the subsequent day and distributed it to residents, asking that they doc something associated to the cats or the bowls placed within the park.
“The residents are looking out,” Kennedy mentioned.
A hazard to cats and kids
Kennedy mentioned the Humane Bean hasn’t had the substance examined, however is choices to take action. She mentioned her organization hasn’t had experiences of cats affected by ingesting the substance, however documenting its results will not be simple.
“Cats go to actually (secluded) areas to die,” she mentioned.
Beacon Journal information accomplice NewsChannel 5 reported in an interview with Summit County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Karla Bloomingdale that antifreeze is a hazard not solely to cats, however may very well be mistaken by kids as a protected substance.
“Antifreeze is nice, so it’s a temptation {that a} little one might choose up a type of bowls and ingest what’s in there simply out of curiosity and wind up in poor health or worse,” Bloomingdale advised NewsChannel 5.
‘Everybody within the park loves the cats’
Kennedy mentioned her organization has been trapping the cats and having them neutered and spayed. In all, about 30 have been collected.
Homes have been discovered for the felines, however some are pets of the park’s residents, complicating the state of affairs.
Kennedy mentioned residents are conscious of the individual who placed the bowls across the park, however many are reluctant to talk with authorities about it.
“I talked to the residents,” she mentioned. “Everybody within the park loves the cats.”
‘It’s simply an outrage’
Des Wertheimer, a Green resident who lives close to the park, mentioned he has contacted City Council members in regards to the state of affairs.
“They have been born right into a state of affairs that they did not choose,” Wertheimer mentioned. “It (antifreeze) is a horrible dying for an animal. It’s simply an outrage.”
NewsChannel 5 reported that the park’s proprietor is conscious of and responded to the state of affairs. It reported a response from the proprietor’s lawyer:
“Mrs. Genovese is conscious of the state of affairs that has occurred at Sandy Beach Trailer Park in recent days. She is working together with her authorized group and cooperating with investigators to assemble the details as shortly as doable. Given that that is an lively investigation, extra updates will likely be supplied on the acceptable time.”
Kennedy mentioned she hopes the individual who placed the bowls to chorus from doing so sooner or later, however is anxious a couple of reoccurrence.
“We’re anxious it might occur once more as soon as the publicity dies down,” she mentioned.
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or electronic mail him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.