KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kim Bilyeu has dedicated so much of her life to rescuing dogs, but when her own dog was poisoned in her own backyard, there was nothing she could do.
“That dog was like a child to me. She was my baby,” Bilyeu told 41 Action News.
Bilyeu fell in love with Missy’s blue eyes, a husky she adopted from the shelter just two months ago.
And now Missy is gone.
“It’s painful. Very painful. It’s like losing a child,” Bilyeu said.
Kim lives with her mom, Terrie Walterson, in Overland Park.
“[Missy] was laying at the end of my bed on the floor, and I went to get her. She was dead,” Walterson said of that Monday morning.
They noticed Missy acting strange Sunday night after they let the dogs in.
"She was kind of lethargic, she was kind of wobbly. She just came in and laid down right there by the door," Bilyeu said.
She started worrying more when Missy threw up Monday morning.
“When I saw this, it was a reddish-brown meat. At the same time, I’m seeing these little things, it looks like rabbit pellets. And it dawned on me, I said, 'Oh my Lord,'" said Bilyeu.
The vet said rat poison.
41 Action News reported on an almost identical story on Tuesday. A woman was in her yard with her dog and found raw hamburger stuffed with what looked like rat poison pellets.
Walterson took us around to the side of the house to the gate leading to the backyard.
"This is how I think they did it. I think they came through here," Walterson said.
They didn't see anyone suspicious but Overland Park police are now investigating.
Walterson said police were looking to get video footage of the traffic light nearby.
They hope someone will come forward.
“Right now my heart is so broken,” Bilyeu cried.
Rat poison can affect a dog in obvious ways. Here are some signs:
- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Pale gums
- Vomiting
- Difficulty breathing
- Wobbly walking
- Collapse
- Bleeding from the gums
- Swelling or bumps on the skin
- Diarrhea
If your dog is showing any of these symptoms, take it to the vet immediately.
