The Minnesota attorney general is suing a couple for tens of thousands of dollars after they allegedly placed rat poison in their garden that was consumed by at least one dog.
Attorney General Keith Ellison filed the civil complaint in Blue Earth County District Court last week on behalf of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), which is responsible for enforcing laws that govern pesticide use.
The complaint alleges that Mankato residents Donata Adam and James Adam lined their lawn, which sits along a public sidewalk, with rat poison to deter dogs from urinating on it.
The lawsuit, which was reviewed by the Daily Mail, states that the couple’s actions violated both state and federal laws that prohibit rat poison from being used outdoors without bait stations.
The complaint requested that the couple be fined $7,500 per day the violations occurred, as well as be made to pay for the MDA’s legal expenses associated with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit includes several photos of alleged rat poison on the Adams’ property, as well as homemade signs, the largest of which read ‘No Dog P***,’ which indicate that they were frustrated by dogs urinating on their lawn.
According to the complaint, a neighbor who was walking her dog by the house in late June saw her pet eat ‘a green block of rat poison’ that was located on the Adams’ lawn, which forced her to make her pet vomit.
The neighbor then ‘saw chunks of rat poison in her dogs’ vomit,’ the lawsuit said. According to PetMD, dogs that ingest rat poison can suffer lack of coordination, tremors, seizures, paralysis, internal or external bleeding, organ failure, and death.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing a couple for allegedly lining their garden with rat poison to deter dogs from urinating there. Cubes of the alleged rat poison are pictured
The couple, Donata Adam and James Adam, also placed homemade signs on their property that indicated they were frustrated with dogs peeing on their yard, according to the lawsuit
The lawsuit also stated that the neighbor heard reports of another dog that may have ingested rat poison in the neighborhood.
It also cited a June 29 KEYC article about two dogs that appeared to have eaten rat poison on the Adams’ property, one of which was treated by being made to vomit, while the other required hospitalization.
The article additionally reported that the family living in the house behind the couple had a 13-year-old Malamute named Emma that died two weeks earlier ‘from excessive bleeding from her rectum.’
‘A local vet hospital confirmed to KEYC that excessive rectal bleeding is a common symptom of many commercial rat poisons,’ the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the MDA received a complaint that the Adams had placed more than a dozen blocks of rat poison directly next to a public sidewalk without using protective bait stations.
The department sent an inspector named Nathan Rolling to investigate the complaint on June 29.
When he arrived, he observed blocks of rat poison on the property and attempted to speak to the Adams, but the couple was highly uncooperative, according to the complaint.
James Adam ‘told Mr. Rolling that it was private property, denied Mr. Rolling entry, and told Mr. Rolling that there was nothing to discuss,’ the lawsuit said.
A close-up of another sign is pictured. At least one dog is alleged to have eaten the rat poison and had to be made to vomit
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Rolling called his supervisor, who in turn called the Mankato Police Department. Two officers were dispatched to the home and spoke to the couple, but they still refused to talk to the inspector, the lawsuit said.
On July 2, the attorney general filed a temporary restraining order against the Adams, which ordered the couple to stop using rat poison in any outdoor area of the property and to move any existing rat poison into sealed containers inside the house.
The couple was also ordered to certify to the court that it had complied with the restraining order within three days of receiving it.
The Adams were additionally told that they must allow an MDA investigator to inspect the outdoor area of their home to ensure that all the rat poison was removed.
The couple has not yet appeared in court, and it seems that they have not yet acquired legal counsel, according to Blue Earth County District Court records.
