Dog poisoned on trail

Someone laced raw meat with poisoned grain and put it on a Thousand Oaks open space trail, killing at least one dog, said Glen Kinney, a ranger for the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency.

The dog died from the poison last month.

"People need to keep their dogs on a leash so they don't get into poison," Kinney said.

He thinks the poison wasn't meant for dogs, but for coyotes.

"Whoever did it, to kill dogs or coyotes, is a really sad person," Kinney said.

No one knows who did it or why, he said, adding that officers with the California Department of Fish and Game are investigating the incident.

Four piles of the poisoned raw meat had been left along Skelton Trail on Lakeview Canyon Open Space. The trail begins at Westlake Boulevard between Hillcrest Drive and Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Kinney said.

The trail has been reopened after three rangers searched the area looking for more of the bluegreencolored poison.

"Open space is a wild area, and there are wild things out there," Kinney said.

It is uncommon to find poisoned bait on open space, he said.

"Sometimes we have people who leave poisoned bait for rodents on their property adjacent to open space. We don't like that," he said.

Leaving poison in open space is illegal. Using it according to regulations on one's own property is allowed.

The National Park Service has documented a case where poison was given to a squirrel that was eaten by a coyote that was eaten by a mountain lion. All three were poisoned, Kinney said.

Anyone who finds suspiciouslooking matter that could possibly be poisoned bait are asked to call Kinney at (805) 381-2741.