THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270390
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLINGTON ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Living a ``dog's life'' usually means a carefree, easy existence.
But for dogs in Colington Harbour, the living this summer is anything but easy. For the third time in as many months, a dog has been killed in the area.
And circulating reports make it sound even worse. Rumors have spread that four dogs were drowned with their jaws taped shut. However, management personnel at Colington Harbour subdivision said the reports were false.
But they did say that earlier this month a dog had been found dead in nearby Frigate Inlet, and another dog died last week in a suspected poisoning.
``I can tell you that around the eighth of the month a dog was found in the canal with its mouth tied shut,'' said Carla Hardison, administrative assistant for the Colington Harbour Association. ``We couldn't confirm that it was a Colington Harbour dog or one that had just floated up.''
Colington Harbour Manager Eve Trow said the dog found in Frigate Inlet had its mouth tied shut with a rope.
Hardison also said officials are investigating the death of a dog that appears to have been poisoned.
``It was a real cute little dog,'' she said. ``As of right now it's an unconfirmed poisoning.''
Trow said that with a number of children living in the subdivision, the poisoning is of special concern.
``We don't know at this point if it's someone who is driving around and giving it to dogs as he sees them, or if they're just leaving the poisoned meat in areas around the subdivision. We've been trying to find out if it's being done on just a couple of streets or in one section. But so far, it's been sporadic and widespread,'' Trow said.
``Our concern is that children could be endangered if there is poison material around.''
Last month, signs were erected in Dare County's first guard-gated community warning residents about dog poisonings after foul play was confirmed in an animal death. Those signs are in place again in the community.
Under the Dare County Code, it is against the law to ``molest, (starve), cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate, kill, wound, injure or torture'' an animal. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Traps have been set up throughout the community in an effort to control unsupervised dogs. Animal control officers have also used traps periodically when they receive a number of complaints about animals roaming in the community.
In 1991, Big Colington Island residents rejected a proposed leash law by a 4-to-1 margin, largely because a tax increase of 5 cents per $100 in property value was included in the measure.
Had the initiative passed, Big Colington would have been the first area in Dare County with a leash law. by CNB