neighbourhood is behind a slew of cruel dog deaths, their latest victim being her own Yorkshire Terrier, Rocky.

The culprit's weapon is Paraquat poison, which causes any animal who eats it to die a slow and agonising death as it seeps through the body. The animal will froth at the mouth, vomit violently and wail.

At least ten dogs in the neighbourhood have been poisoned by the deadly poison over the past few years, estimated the resident, who wished to remain anonymous and declined to name her suspect.

The tearful dog lover said Rocky's life was hanging in the balance and pleaded for something to be done to "put an end to the killings''.

The woman said she lost her first Yorkshire Terrier to Paraquat poisoning.

Police spokesman Sgt. John Dale admitted Paraquat poisoning of pets "has been going on in Bermuda for years'' and was "a cruel way to kill animals''.

But he said very few prosecutions have resulted because it was difficult for Police to prove who the culprits were.

"They usually mix it (the poison) with meat and lay it down on the ground for animals, and they eat it and die,'' he said His advice: "Keep dogs secured on their own property and off other people's.'' But the woman said her dog never wandered off the property without her at his side.

And Government veterinarian Dr. Neil Burnie said there had been unfortunate cases where a dog had wandered onto another person's property after swallowing Paraquat-infected meat, vomited and another dog had ate the vomit. He said there had also been cases where a dog had managed to stray from its yard for the very first time, and happened to eat poisoned meat.

The woman said she had called the Police, the Government dog warden and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department a number of times to complain, but none had been unable to nail the culprit.

"Why can't the person just come and say to you: `Your dog's on my property, please keep her tied up', instead of using poison?,'' the woman asked. "The person who is responsible should go to the vets and see the condition of these dogs and how expensive it is to keep them there.'' Dr. Burnie confirmed yesterday that there had been a number of reports of dog poisonings in the Granaway Heights neighbourhood recently.

He said Paraquat poisoning of dogs seemed to be an "impossible crime to prevent''.

He said it had long been debated to ban Paraquat on the Island. But he noted it was an important weed killer and herbicide used by farmers on their crops and was freely available in America and Britain, as are other poisonous substances which can kill dogs.

Dr. Burnie said he had often gone on raids of homes of people suspected of laying down Paraquat poison to kill dogs, which is illegal under the current Dogs Act.

However, he said Paraquat poison had rarely ever been found, and even when it was, it was difficult to prove the person whose house in which it was found was responsible for killing dogs.

Dr. Burnie recalled the most recent spate of Paraquat poisoning, which killed off a number of pet cats in the White Sand's Road, Paget area last November.

And he noted a time when a number of dogs were being poisoned deliberately in a St. David's neighbourhood, but the poisoning stopped when the man believed to be the culprit died.

"I sympathise highly with the woman who lost two pets. Each case is a personal tragedy,'' he said. "But the only thing I can suggest is to keep dogs tied up.

He said the poison was laid mostly by people who were frustrated with dogs who kept straying onto their property, which was also illegal under the Dogs Act.