Shiba Inu dies after eating suspected poison-laced crumb found at Mei Ling St, AVS investigating

Sam (not his real name) was taking their family dog Kuro out for a daily walk when he noticed dead pigeons on the pavement and grass patch at Mei Ling Street on Jul. 5.

Distracted, the 30-year-old only noticed the bread crumbs next to the dead pigeons after he saw Kuro nibbling on a crumb.

The 11-year-old Shiba Inu, who had been with the family since June 2013, began vomiting and having seizures four hours later.

Kuro died later that night.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Animal Veterinary Services (AVS) said they were alerted to the incident and are looking into it.

The cause of Kuro's death was not confirmed, though vets told the family his symptoms are similar to poisoning.

The incident occurred just a week after five community cats were found dead at Mei Ling Street on three separate occasions.

Dead pigeons found next to breadcrumbs

Ella (not her real name), 24, said her brother noticed the dead pigeons when walking Kuro around 7:15am on Jul. 5.

Photos and a video provided by Ella showed at least two dead pigeons found within the vicinity of a car park at Stirling Heights.

Worried for Kuro's safety, Sam tried his best to steer the Shiba Inu away from the dead pigeons.

As he was distracted, he was unable to stop Kuro in time as the dog munched on a crumb.

Sam felt uneasy and worried, but thought nothing more of it.

Kuro began vomiting and then having seizures

Approximately four hours later at 11am, Kuro began vomiting numerous times.

Worried, Ella's family made an appointment with the vet that evening.

They then brought Kuro out so he could do his business.

"When we took him out, he walked happily for a few minutes when suddenly he had a seizure at the entrance of our HDB car park," Ella recalled.

This happened 15 to 20 minutes after Kuro last vomited.

Kuro also began having nosebleeds and unstoppable bleeding from his paws.

The family panicked and quickly called an aunt who lived nearby so she could drive them to the vet.

"We felt very helpless when Kuro was having seizures," Ella said.

The family attempted to soothe him with pats as they rushed him to the vet.

An hour later, before the family could reach the vet, Kuro passed away.

Kuro's sudden death was a huge shock for the family, leaving them with feelings of "sadness and helplessness".

The dog did not have any prior sickness or health issues.

The vets told the family that Kuro's symptoms are similar to poisoning, though no causes could be confirmed as the family chose not to do an autopsy.

"With the recent Mei Ling cats passing away, it alerted us it could be something similar to it," said Ella.

Naughty yet lovable boy

Ella described Kuro as "a very naughty yet lovable boy".

A playful dog that would steal family members' house slippers for attention, Ella said, "though at that time it was the most annoying thing he did, we miss it".

The family added that they miss how Kuro would greet them by the door when they came home.

Would like to raise awareness on the issue

The family reached out to SPCA the day of Kuro's passing, as they did not wish for other pets and pet owners to go through the same ordeal.

The authorities have been sympathetic and helpful during this tough time, said Ella, adding that they had an officer assigned to Kuro's case almost immediately.

The family also sent Kuro’s carcass for a postmortem so that the cause of death can be investigated.

"We just want to raise awareness about this matter, so that no other pet owners go through the same experience as us," said Ella.

AVS and SPCA are investigating

AVS and SPCA confirmed they are aware of the case, in response to Mothership's queries.

"The SPCA has escalated the case to the AVS," executive director of SPCA, Aarthi Sankar told Mothership.

"We understand that the owner has also filed a report with AVS and is assisting the authorities with investigations."

"The National Parks Board (NParks) has received feedback involving the death of a pet dog on Jul. 5, 2024, at Mei Ling Street and is looking into the matter," said Jessica Kwok, group director of AVS.

Top photos courtesy of Ella.