Landscaper accused of trying to poison dogs

CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (WHDH) -- Police are investigating a Charlestown landscaper who is accused of putting dogs in danger with tainted treats.

Neighbors say a landscaper was doing more than caring for lawns in Charlestown. They say he was poisoning food and trying to give it to animals.

The first time Ryan O’Connell saved Terry's life was when he adopted the dog.

Most recently, he rescued Terry from a near poisoning.

“I saw him get the hot dog and pulled part of it out of his mouth and they’re all tainted and green. Then I looked in the area and there was quite a few,” said O’Connell.

Terry was severely sick for several days -- that was six months ago. So when O’Connell saw the same hot dogs again scattered on a Charlestown lawn Sunday, he grew concerned.

“I saw him with the hot dogs and they were like marinating in a green liquid, and then I saw him do it,” said O’Connell.

Ryan says he saw the landscaper outside the bricklayers union with a bucket with what O’Connell believed was antifreeze and hot dogs next to him.

“I asked him if he was poisoning the dogs and he said the ones that weren’t staying off the lawn,” O’Connell said.

With so many pets in the area, neighbors could see how the landscaper would be frustrated.

“He was upset I think that dog owners weren’t picking up their dog mess and he had to mow the lawn and step in it,” said Lia DiFranco, a neighbor.

O’Connell and another neighbor quickly picked up the remaining hot dog pieces. He says as someone who's rescued a dog, he can't understand why someone would want to harm them.

“I just don't want any other dogs to get hurt. Obviously he should be punished in some way but as long as the action stops and no other dogs get sick,” O’Connell said.