Suspected rat poison pellet discovery closes part of Santa Clara park after dog sickened

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- Part of a Santa Clara park remains closed after the discovery of rodent poison pellets that sickened a dog and raised concerns among residents.

The incident began Monday when a dog owner contacted the city after their pet ingested pellets at Jenny Strand Park, located near Apple's headquarters.

The dog ate 14 pellets, became ill and later vomited the poison. The pet is expected to recover.

City crews responded quickly and removed the pellets, but the park remained closed Tuesday as inspections continued. Officials said they are taking extra precautions to ensure public safety.

Many residents said they were shocked and concerned about rat poison being found at Jenny Strand Park, especially given the number of children and dogs who visit daily.

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"Definitely something that's surprising and irritating," resident Xiayun Zhang said.

City spokesperson Janine De La Vega said crews conducted thorough sweeps of the park and expanded their inspections citywide.

"This is obviously very concerning - pets are family members," De La Vega said. "(Crews) inspected and picked up all the pellets off the ground, and they kept doing checks today. They are going around to all city parks and inspecting and doing a thorough check to make sure no pellets are at any of our parks."

De La Vega emphasized that the city does not use poison to control pests in parks, noting those areas are heavily used by children, families and pets.

The park saw fewer visitors Tuesday following news of the incident, as some families chose to stay away.

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"We spend a lot of time in our local park. And my daughter, she loves to explore the whole park. And I'm afraid she could put something very colorful and very attractive into her mouth, and that could be very scary to me," resident Ivy Liang said.

Authorities have not said when the park will reopen, noting the decision will depend on when police determine the area is safe.

Residents said the incident has heightened their vigilance.

"I'm very sad to hear about this surprising news about poisonous pellets here. That's very dangerous to kids as well," Zhang said. "Hopefully we can figure out who did this and potentially prevent them from doing further things like this."

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact city staff.