Tablet hidden in corned beef and thrown into garden to 'poison' pet dog

The pill, shaped like paracetamol, was found inside a slice of corned beef.

It was discovered on Tuesday by Eddy Brunet who had let his partners' dogs Rolo and Tiggy into the garden in Cherrybrook Drive.

He had noticed Rolo go to pick something up that looked like a chunk of wood and told her to leave it.

When he went over to pick up the wood, he noticed it was a slice of corned beef with a pill shoved into it.

Claire Smith, who owns both Rolo and Tiggy, said the incident was 'heartbreaking' and called on whoever had done to it to 'hang their head in shame'.

She said: "Rolo's completely fine. She's good like that, if you tell her to do something she will.

"When Ed first rang me and told me what had happened I was fuming, effing and blinding down the phone.

"We believe it was a deliberate attempt to poison our dogs. The police asked if they bark all the time but they don't, Ed is home with them all day.

"I put the post online to try and warn others and find out if there had been any similar incidents. I was expecting a few shares and the odd 'oh my God that's disgusting' comment but my phone wouldn't stop going off all night.

"It's annoying that someone would do it. It's upsetting as well because normally we let them out then go off and do the washing or whatever as they could be trusted but now we're out with torches scanning the garden."

She added: "The pill had PX written on the side. We found one thing on Google which said it might be used for diseases like Parkinsons but we don't know if this is the same pill. It's shaped like paracetamol which of course is toxic to cats and dogs.

"It would have been devastating for us if any anything had happened, my dogs are my children. It's heart breaking to think someone could do something like this to an animal.

"Whoever has done this should hang their head in shame."

Staffordshire Police has called on anyone with any information to get in touch.

Deana Pritchard, a spokeswoman for the force, said: "We received a call just after 5pm reporting a suspicious incident in Penkridge.

"A dog came in from the garden at a house in Cherrybrook Drive, Penkridge, with something in her mouth.

"When the owner checked the item it was a piece of corned beef with a tablet in it.

"A local officer attended the address to speak to the concerned resident and advised them to visit their vet to ensure the dog had not ingested anything harmful, and to take the tablet with them for the vet to check.

"The dog warden has been notified to make them aware."

Anyone with any information should call Staffordshire Police on 101.