The Statesboro Animal Control and Humane Enforcement urge pet owners to be on the lookout for possible threats to their dogs after the death of three dogs in a local neighborhood last week.

Three neighborhood dogs, all from different households on Bel-Air Drive died due to what authorities believe to be an intentional poisoning. A fourth was also poisoned but survived.

“It’s been ruled animal cruelty and there is an ongoing criminal investigation that will continue further once the [toxicology] results come back,” John Allen Mixon, owner of one of the dogs, said.

All of the dogs ingested meat left on the owners property that authorities say was laced with poison. The type of poison has yet to be determined.

“You just want to check your property, if you’re walking your dog down the street or sidewalk, you want to make sure you know when he tries to pick up something and eat,” Officer Joey Sanders, supervisor of Bulloch county animal control and humane enforcement, said.

Sometimes people have issues with their neighbors’ dogs. Instead of calling humane enforcement or animal control, they would take matters into their own hands, Sanders said.

There are several possible poisons that may have been used on the dogs.

Things like rat poison and antifreeze usually take a couple of days to kill an animal. What it does is start shutting down their system little by little, Sanders said.

Signs to look out for if a dog is sick are if the dog is unstable or sluggish, Sanders said.

Mixon believes that his dog, Noble, was poisoned with Temik. However, this assumption has not yet been confirmed.

Temik, the brand name also known as 15G, is an Aldicarb pesticide, which is a chemical used for crops such as cotton, potatoes and peanuts.

According to the Material Data Safety Sheet by Bayer CropScience, Temik is classified as hazardous by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC).

“Rule of thumb usually is that they don’t walk two or three steps from where they ate it. They usually drop dead. You ain’t got time to take them to the vet,” Sanders said.

“Nobody should have Temik in their possession unless they have a permit for it,” Sanders said.

Mixon and his girlfriend, Callie Johnson, are currently raising money to fund Noble’s toxicology test. If they exceed $1,000, the reward prize will increase and funds will be donated to the Humane Society of Statesboro & Bulloch County.

The Wilmouth family, owners of the other deceased dog, declined to comment.