Slay Cheese!

Claim: Nails have been found in pieces of cheese left in dog parks.

MIXTURE

Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2011]

There's a rumor going around facebook that has a photo of small blocks of cheese with nails in them. It says "New trend at dog parks, nails in pieces of cheese, if you take your dogs to dog parks, please be careful!!"

DOG PARK ALERT: We have received two notices. (1) Nails wrapped in cheese at dog parks in Chicago and Massachusetts (see pic). (2) from some friends that in Augusta Maine dog park, antifreeze is being found in doggie water bowls. Please beware and be careful and PLEASE SHARE and spread the word. sigh

Origins: These alarming heads-up began circulating on social media sites like Facebook in October 2011, usually accompanied by a photo depicting a handful of cubes of cheese that had nails run through them.

The photo came from an actual news story about such an event, but that incident occurred in Buenos Aires in July 2011. A dog Nails in cheese

walker in Centennial Park in that city discovered the nail-laced treats on the floor of a nearby kennel. There was no report of animals having been harmed.

Regarding the oft-included claim that "they found cheese like this in parks in Chicago and Ma.," we've found no evidence that any such discoveries were made. There are no news stories about such finds.

However, about two weeks after the photo of the nail-laden cheese circulated online, chunks of meat that had nails inserted into them were discovered at a dog park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At the Buchanan Park dog park in that city, two pieces of meat that had several framing nails "loosely attached" to their underside were found on 17 October 2011. No dogs were harmed.

Regarding the claim "antifreeze is being found in doggie water bowls," we've yet to happen upon credible news reports confirming that happening in 2011, in Maine or elsewhere.

Antifreeze-laced water and treats have been left in doggie parks before, though. In 2009, cupcakes that had been injected with antifreeze were left out for the dogs who frequented Poplar Park in Port Perry (a town within commuting distance of Toronto). In 2008, 6 pooches were felled (2 fatally) by antifreeze left in buckets of water in an off-leash area of High Park in Toronto. Antifreeze is not the only poison that has been used — in 2004 in an off-leash area of Withrow Park in Toronto, 16 dogs were poisoned after ingesting chunks of hot dogs spiked with a rare pesticide.

In a nutshell:

The photograph of cheese cubes with nails through them is real.

It came from a July 2011 news story in Argentina about such spiked treats being found in a kennel near a public park in Buenos Aires.

There are no reports of nail-spiked cheese being found in dog parks in Chicago or Massachusetts.

There is a report of nail-spiked meat being found in a dog park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

There are no current confirmed reports of antifreeze being found in water bowls at dog parks.

Last updated: 18 October 2011

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Sources:

Aulakh, Raveena. "Port Perry Dogs Poisoned with Antifreeze.": Toronto Star. 24 March 2009.
Canwest News Service. "6 Dogs Poisoned in Toronto; 2 Not Expected to Live.": 23 June 2008.
CBC News. "2 Dogs Die After Being Poisoned in High Park.": 23 June 2008.
Macleans. "Who Poisoned the Dogs of Withrow Park?": 16 February 2004.
Perfil.com. "Hallan Comida Para Perros con Clavos en Parque Centenario.": 25 July 2011.
WPVI. "Nails Found in Meat Left at Pa. Dog Park.": Associated Press. 18 October 2011.