On Saturday evening 18^th August at about midnight, upon returning from work, the owner heard her two dogs gurgling. Thinking little of it she retired to bed, but the morning revealed her pets were clearly ill. They both had diarrhoea and were salivating profusely. The vet diagnosed Botulism, a poisoning caused by eating rotten food, and prescribed antibiotics. This saved the older bitch, but the puppy died.

On the following Wednesday (22^nd), Mrs Doreen Beard left her small dog at her grand-daughter's house, next door to the previous owner, to be looked-after while she made a day trip to Brisbane. She collected her dog at 7 PM on the same day, and noticed her pet was shivering, so as soon as she arrived at her home she turned on a heater. This did not seem to help, and the dog became even more distressed: jumping when being touched, and showing signs of confusion and restlessness. These symptoms worsened so Mitzi was taken to the vet at about 9. 45 PM where she quickly died.

The vet's diagnosis was possible strychnine poisoning, which horrified the owner, who immediately recalled the story of the neighbouring dogs, and began to suspect all three dogs had been poisoned.

However after careful consideration it was realised that this was untrue. Whatever afflicted the dogs, there was no doubt that the two cases were different. There was no reason to question the original vet's diagnosis, just as there seemed no reason to accept the second vet's diagnosis. If Mitzi had been poisoned by strychnine she would have died very quickly, which immediately ruled out strychnine. Indeed the fact that Mitzi had spent at least two hours on the veranda, which was well away from, and invisible to, passer's by before being collected, and was only at the house by accident, made the act of deliberate poisoning unlikely.

Whether Mitzi had died from Tetanus or snakebite or whatever, it was most likely to be an unfortunate accident. So despite the fact that both incidents had happened at adjoining houses and within days of each other, there was no reason to think they were either connected or deliberate.