‘I have nightmares to this day’: Waterford family mourns beloved dog killed by poison

Every morning, Kate Kileen could count on being greeted by the sight of her dog's eyes peeking above her bed.

Bain, a friendly French mastiff with a wrinkled face and light brown coat, was always by her side.

Until one day last month, when Kileen's best friend was missing from his usual spot.

He just seemed a little lethargic," said Kileen, who noticed Bain looked very off" when she let her three dogs into the backyard of their Waterford home on March 16.

Bain soon began panting uncontrollably," Kileen recalled. His tongue was dry and grey, and he was unable to keep his balance.

Then he lost bladder control and starting spewing blood.

The couple rushed Bain to the closest veterinary hospital, in Simcoe, with Kileen's partner, Cris Williams, performing CPR in the back seat.

He was dead before he got there," Williams said, fighting back tears at the memory.

An autopsy confirmed the couple's gentle" and loving" dog had been killed by what police described as a large amount" of slow-acting rat poison.

The veterinarian told Kileen and Williams the poison would have taken up to five days to work its way through Bain's system, as he weighed about 125 pounds.

The vet said by the time we woke up that morning and he was showing symptoms, it was already too late," Williams said.

I have nightmares to this day about my dog and what I could've done to save him. I tried so hard."

Further tests revealed the family's other two mastiffs - Bain's father, Chaos, and his sister, Cleo - also had traces of the poison in their systems.

They have since recovered, Kileen said.

The OPP's animal cruelty investigation is ongoing, with a working theory that the poison was thrown into the family's spacious backyard, which is enclosed by a fence and cedar trees on each side. If it was in the yard, none was left after the dogs ingested it.

I know the dogs weren't off the property in that (five-day) time frame. So it had to be at our house," Williams said.

He called police after spotting footprints in the snow near the fence and tree branches broken in multiple spots," as if someone had pushed through the cedars to the far corner of their property.

I believe it was our dogs (that were) targeted," said Williams.

If they were targeted, it is unclear who is responsible.

However, the couple says they have been the recipient of numerous" bylaw complaints about their dogs and the state of their Bruce Street property since moving to Waterford from Hamilton last summer.

Save for having to relocate a trailer, Kileen said all the complaints were dismissed as unfounded" once inspectors came to the house and met their dogs.

Norfolk County bylaw supervisor Jim Millson expressed his condolences for the family's loss, but told The Spectator it is department policy not to comment publicly on specific investigations, citing privacy concerns.

Kileen described how the couple's social media posts about Bain's death prompted private messages from residents in Waterford and elsewhere in Norfolk describing how their family pets were allegedly also poisoned.

The people that reached out to us privately, the police can't use that. Coming from us, it's hearsay," Williams said.

So we're now pleading with those people who were so compassionate to us to now be compassionate again and reach out to the police, or Crime Stoppers anonymously."

OPP Const. Ed Sanchuk echoed that call, asking anyone with information about Bain's death to have that courage to pick up that phone and contact police."

We want to try and bring some type of resolution to the family," he said.

Tips can be left with the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at helpsolvecrime.com.

Kileen said the death of her trusting, sociable pup has left her family afraid to be in their own home.

I never thought something like this would happen out here," said Kileen, who used to let her four kids roam around their fenced-in yard as long as the dogs were out, but now cannot bear to have her toddler out of sight.

My kids play out here every day. Who's to say that my two-year-old didn't pick something up?" she said of a horrible" situation that could have been even worse had her daughter found the poison.

They have since installed a security camera pointed at the section of fence where Williams noticed the footprints.

I fall asleep on the couch every night watching the new camera," Williams said. I don't understand what my family or my dogs did to deserve this."

As for Kileen, she still cannot accept that her morning greeter" is gone.

It took me a while just to sleep in my own room, because he wasn't there," she said.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting on Haldimand and Norfolk is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. jpantonacci@thespec.com