VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Editor's note: This story has been updated after receiving additional information from Virginia Beach Animal Control.
More than 1,300 people recently shared a Facebook post that claimed someone's dog in Virginia Beach was found eating rat poison covered in peanut butter.
The post was made on April 26 in "Lost & Found Pets - Hampton Roads, VA," a Facebook group with 56,000 members dedicated to finding and reuniting lost pets with their owners.
The person shared a screenshot of a community message originating from the Ring home security app, saying a friend found their dog chewing on "a bag covered in peanut butter" that had a "brick" inside.
"After googling it they found out it's rat poison," the Ring message read.
According to the post made in the Facebook group, the Ring message was warning people in the Red Mill and Ocean Lakes part of Virginia Beach. The person claimed it wasn't the only instance reported and that police were notified.
"Someone is putting rat poison in bags, covering the bags with peanut butter and placing in yards," the person alleged in the Facebook post.
However, 13News Now reached out to a couple of sources and heard something different.
THE QUESTION
Did the police get reports of a dog that ate rat poison in Virginia Beach?
THE SOURCES
- Virginia Beach Police Department
- Virginia Beach Animal Control
- Virginia Beach SPCA
THE ANSWER
WHAT WE FOUND
Animal control received one isolated report, but the incident is not as rampant as the post suggests.
In response to the Facebook post, a spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Police Department initially said police didn't get reports of the alleged incident or anyone dropping bags of poison.
However, the Virginia Beach Animal Control Unit later confirmed that they did in fact receive one report of rat poison the day the post was made. Animal control made sure to note that the incident was isolated.
The spokesperson with the police department said the Animal Control Unit would reach out to the person who runs the Facebook group to follow up and make sure it isn't something to look into further.
The Virginia Beach SPCA, a group that works to prevent animal cruelty, also said it hasn't heard anything about this incident.
What to do if your pet eats poison
The Virginia Beach SPCA said pets who have ingested a toxic substance should be taken to a veterinarian immediately.
The most common signs of pet poisoning include collapse, seizures, bleeding, dilated pupils, heavy drooling, rapid heart rate, vomiting/gastrointestinal symptoms, respiratory distress, incoordination, and sudden weakness.