Tortola Locals Are Poisoning Expatriates' Pet Dogs

Photo courtesy of Dr. Laura Palminteri

“The motherfuckers poisoned her.”

That was the text message I received 13 hours before I arrived at Tortola, the largest and most populated British Virgin Island. The text came from Ben Rogers, a dog owner who has been vigilant about letting his dog outdoors. This was the first time Rogers had accidentally forgot to check the latch on his fence. By the time he had realized his gate was open, his dog, Scarlet, had died because she had swallowed a poisonous amount of strychnine. He wasn't surprised Scarlet ate poison, because dog poisoning is a huge issue in Tortola.

Like many controversial trends, dog poisoning is the result of a culture clash. Locals and expatriates make up Tortola's population. Where expatriates adopt stray animals and keep them as pets, many locals fear or hate animals. Instead of spaying, neutering, or adopting strays, locals have poisoned dogs to reduce the island’s animal population.

Some expatriates are trying to find a solution to the problem. Cat Clayton and her mother, Cindy, have been saving dogs for years. They carry poison kits at the Tamarind Club, their restaurant and hotel in Josiah’s Bay on the northeast end of Tortola, because their business is open to all dogs and cat and a hot spot for poisoning. Cat is experienced enough with dog poisoning to describe exactly how a dog will die. “It starts with light panting,” Cat said. “Then their feet start lightly shaking, then their whole bodies, then they fall on the floor convulsing and foaming at the mouth, and by the time they start defecating, the poison is burning their entire bodies from the inside—they’ll die within minutes of that.”

Expats are also adopting strays. One such expat, Abi Hillman, gave Scarlett to Rogers and currently owns 13 former stray cats. Veterinarian Dr. Laura Palminteri regularly spays and neuters Hillman’s cats pro bono. The same day that Scarlet lost her life, Hillman showed Dr. Palminteri four dogs she found who had burnt tongues because they had been poisoned with some sort of acid. Dr. Palminteri managed to stabilize the dogs, but they later died.

Locals have many reasons to poison dogs. In Josiah’s Bay, a number of dogs were allegedly the victims of poisoning during a mass burglary spree. “They went down the street at night throwing pieces of chicken, tuna, and minced meat stuffed with strychnine onto peoples balconies to kill [what they perceived as] guard dogs, so that they could rob the houses,” Cat said. “This happens everywhere, but I’ve never heard of so many places getting hit at once.” Owners also routinely let their dogs roam free, without leashes and sometimes without supervision, and these dogs sneak onto farmers' properties, killing livestock, barking at people, or increasing fear.

Dr. Palminteri believes some dogs may have accidentally come in contact with rat poison. “It’s put around bins and houses to stop rats from getting in, but because it takes a while to kill an animal, rats become slower and easier to catch. So small dogs and cats catch the rats and get poisoned,” Dr. Palminteri said. “Rat poison can take anywhere from an hour to ten days to go before the blood stops clotting and vitamin K shots rebuild the clot factor. You keep them on it for three weeks until their blood stabilizes.”

Vijay Bissoondutt, a volunteer at the Humane Society, said the rat poison is only meant to stop strays from entering property. “Innocent dogs get it the worst,” he explained. “They get poisoned with strychnine more [often than rat poison], and it is the most inhumane way to die.”

When I called local authorities, they denied known that residents were poisoning animals. Commissioner David Morris explained that they have no information on poisonings. “We get calls, and we go” he said. “That’s all we know.” Dr. Michael Montrose, Chief Veterinary Officer at the Department of Agriculture, claimed that he “has never heard of this issue before.” The Claytons said when they lost their two dogs within minutes of each other in October 2011, the police came and asked them, “What do you want us to do about it?”

Since then the Claytons have vowed to reduce the number of poisoned animals. Cat works with Dr. Palminteri, while Cindy teaches dog training with Bissoondutt. Cat said that her classes are now about 50 percent expats and 50 percent locals.

“You have to be vigilant and responsible as a dog owner,” Cindy said. “Dogs don’t get to be dogs here. It’s not right.”