A canine whodunnit: U.K. show dog poisoned
Pot Noodle may be the luckiest Irish Setter in the world, alive today because of a case of mistaken identity. Pot Noodle won best of breed at Britain's prestigious Crufts Dog Show over the weekend.
But Satisfaction, Pot Noodle's kennel-mate, wasn't so lucky. He's dead, apparently poisoned backstage when the two dogs switched places. It's a canine caper: the curious incident of the dog that was murdered in the night... but by whom?
The owners of Satisfaction -- nicknamed Jagger -- can't get no satisfaction either.
All they know is that the dog came back to their home in Belgium after the show feeling unwell and died a few hours later.
An autopsy found meat, apparently laced with poison in his stomach.
In the dog-eat-dog world of big-time competitions, suspicion immediately fell on rival breeders. But owner Willem Lauwers didn't see their paw prints on this crime.
"We do not want to think this was an act of a fellow exhibitor," Lauwers said. "Hopefully Jagger was just the wrong dog on the wrong place on the wrong time."
So who done it? Dog shows have been targeted by the more radical fringes of the animal rights movement, who complain of inbreeding, genetic illness and other mistreatment.
Whoever did it, for whatever reason, Jagger paid the price.