Contrary to initial report, no dogs ingested poison in Newburyport, officials say

After initial reports that two dogs consumed poison in Newburyport last month, officials are now saying that the poisonings did not happen.

The city’s animal control initially said that an owner reported two dogs ingesting poison on the side of a trail behind a garage at Moseley Woods. Both dogs were taken to a veterinarian, and one died last Sunday. 

A few days later, officials said that there was “no identified risk posed intentionally to dogs in this area.” They inspected the area and did not find any “current threat or source of alarm.”

On Friday, Mayor Sean Reardon’s office released another update regarding the incident, saying definitively that no dogs were poisoned in Moseley Woods or the surrounding residential area last month.  

After the city learned about the death of one of the dogs, police and city officials opened an investigation. It included interviews with the dogs’ owner, the veterinarian, and a “thorough sweep” of the woods and surrounding areas. 

“Facts gathered in the investigation have led the City to conclude that the two dogs under the owner’s control had not been poisoned. There is no evidence that any resident in the area of the woods poisoned the dogs, either intentionally or accidentally,” officials said Friday. 

There is no identified risk to residents or their pets in Moseley Woods or the surrounding neighborhood. 

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