Two unsettling reports of animal cruelty involving dogs in different towns in Massachusetts were unfounded, according to police.
Authorities in Townsend and Newburyport issued press releases Friday looking to debunk rumors that had been circulating around the towns.
Police in Townsend, located in northern Massachusetts along the New Hampshire border, said they received a report on April 11 that someone had thrown one or more puppies off the Amidon Family Memorial Bridge on Wheeler Road and into Willard Brook. When officers arrived, they searched a stretch of the brook but were unable to find any evidence to corroborate the report. They contacted the animal control officer and police in neighboring Ashby.
Several residents responded to a social media post about the investigation and provided leads. As a result, police identified and interviewed the person who was at the bridge.
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"Based on this interview and subsequent investigation, the Department has determined that no animals were harmed, and no crimes were committed. The investigation is considered closed," police said Friday.
Meanwhile, about 60 miles to the east in Newburyport, an investigation had been ongoing since earlier this week, when city officials learned that two dogs became ill after walking in Moseley Woods sometime last month.
Upon learning of the death of a dog that had been walking in the area, city officials and police said they opened an investigation into whether the animal was poisoned. They interviewed the dog's owner and veterinarian and did a sweep of the woods and surrounding neighborhood.
"Facts gathered in the investigation have led the City to conclude that the two dogs under the owner’s control had not been poisoned. There is no evidence that any resident in the area of the woods poisoned the dogs, either intentionally or accidentally," the city said Friday.
They said the city has identified no risk to residents and their pets in Moseley Woods or the surrounding area.
