VANCOUVER, Wash. — Animal control officers are concerned after several cats and raccoons were found dead in Vancouver, apparently from ingesting some kind of poison.
The animals were found dead in Fircrest Park, East Vancouver and near downtown Vancouver, according to Clark County Animal Protection and Control.
One raccoon was found alive with its leg inside an illegal trap that was lodged inside a fence on the east side of Vancouver.
Investigators are not sure if the cat and raccoon deaths were intentional, but if so the person or people responsible will be charged with animal cruelty, animal control manager Susan Anderson said.
Anderson said approximately 15 dead animals have been found since the summer of 2017, and they all appeared to be poisoned.
Josh Neibert, who lives near Fircrest Park, said one of his dogs found a dead raccoon a couple of weeks ago.
"It was dead but it was on its back and it didn't look like it had gotten into a scuffle or anything," said Neibert. "I thought maybe it fell out of the tree."
"If it wasn't my dog, what if another dog bit it or got at it and they got sick and died?" Neibert said. "It's scary to think it was happening so close to our home and we didn't realize it."
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Clark County animal control at 564-397-2488.