Woman, 73, admits to trying to poison neighbor’s barking dog by throwing chicken soaked in antifreeze into her yard
- Margaret Werker, 73, had pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty
- Werker was caught on surveillance camera attempting to fling something over her fence into her neighbor’s yard where his dog, Wrigley, was being held
- The item got stuck on the top of the fence and never made its way to Wrigley
- The neighbor called police, and a test revealed the material was likely ground chicken that had been soaked in antifreeze
- Authorities said they believed the motive was related to a ‘barking issue’
- Werker was arrested May 4 and pleaded guilty on July 9, avoiding jail time
A Colorado woman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges related to trying to poison her neighbor’s dog with ground chicken soaked in antifreeze because of a ‘barking issue.’
Margaret Werker, age 73, was captured on surveillance camera attempting to throw the contaminated meat over a fence to the dog, Wrigley, in Colorado Springs in early April.
Luckily the meat got stuck in the fence and Wrigley couldn’t get to it.
‘There were some concerns with some complaints about a barking dog in that area,’ Lindsey Vigna the Assistant Director for Law Enforcement told KKTV. ‘We weren’t really ever able to pinpoint down who it was coming from. But, we believe that’s where it stemmed from, a barking issue.’
Video provided by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region shows a woman approaching the fence separating her yard from her neighbor’s yard and trying to fling something over the barrier.
The dog, Wrigley, can be seen walking up to the fence, sniffing around at the ground as the item gets stuck and remains hanging from the top of the fence.
After watching this unfold, the neighbor called police and reported that Werker seemed to be trying to poison the dog.
Once the meat was tested, it was revealed that it had been contaminated with anti-freeze.
Margaret Werker, age 73 (left and right), of Colorado Springs, Colorado pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges related to trying to poison her neighbor’s dog with ground chicken soaked in anti-freeze because of a ‘barking issue’
Werker was captured on surveillance camera attempting to throw the contaminated meat over a fence (shown) to the dog, Wrigley, in Colorado Springs in early April. Luckily the meat got stuck in the fence that Werker tried to fling it over and Wrigley couldn’t get to it
Werker was arrested on May 4 and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. She pleaded guilty on July 9, avoiding jail time with a deferred sentence. The area where the two yards come together, separated by the fence where the poisoned meat got stuck, is shown
‘Poisoning cases can be very difficult to investigate and charge because usually there is very little evidence linking a suspect to the crime,’ the humane society said in a release about the incident.
‘However, in this case, the victim had proof. He had obtained video of his neighbor throwing a substance into his backyard, which later tested positive for poisonous material.’
Werker was arrested on May 4 and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. She pleaded guilty on July 9, avoiding jail time with a deferred sentence.
Werker was also ordered to donate $250 to the humane society.
Werker was also ordered to donate $250 to the humane society. Her home, complete with a cat mailbox, is shown