17-05-2025
Dogs poisoned in Tuscaloosa County, still no arrests
TUSCALOOSA, Ala (WIAT) – A community just north of the Tuscaloosa city limits is being asked to remain on high alert following the death of three dogs who were poisoned.
'This is just evil,' Julie Lary said. 'There's no other word for it but evil.'
Lary moved to Coaling about a year ago. It's a small and quaint town with few business, but a lot of families. That's why it's hard to believe what's happening in her own neighborhood.
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'This past week we found motor oil and anti-freeze mixed in, poured over our fence line,' Lary said.
Lary has two Pitbulls, which are more than family pets – they're family. Her fur babies like to spend more time inside napping and snuggling than they do outside, Lary said. But a Monday night bathroom break evolved into an investigation.
'We are stepping up patrols,' Coaling Mayor Gary Averett said. 'Especially in subdivisions where animals are pretty much confined.'
Lary's neighbors, the Lolley family, are searching for answers after their dog Sophie was poisoned.
'Sophie did not deserve this,' Lary said. 'She is a sweet, beautiful dog and now she's gone.'
Sophie died Sunday night before making it to an emergency veterinarian. But, at the time, the cause of her death was unknown – until the Larys found the motor oil and anti-freeze in their yard.
'We knew that our neighbor's dogs passed just a few days before, so [my husband] called him, [our neighbor] came over and said 'that's exactly what Sophie threw up,'' Lary said.
'The vet has confirmed that that is what killed those dogs – poisoning,' Averett said.
Lary considers her family lucky – their dogs are still alive, but their hearts go out to the Lolley family.
In the last couple of days, the Lolley's are not the first family this happened to, but Coaling's mayor hopes they're the last.
'We need to establish a good community watch,' Averett said. 'We're encouraging all of our people to be on alert, if you see anything suspicious call 911.'
The town of Coaling does have a 24/7 dispatcher, but for anyone with more information you can also contact Coaling's police department by messaging them on Facebook.
'We will do everything we can to catch this perpetrator and prosecute him the fullest extent that the law will allow us to do,' Averett said.
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