ABBOT – Local authorities are investigating the suspicious deaths of two more dogs in Piscataquis County to determine if they were deliberately poisoned with tainted meat.

The owner of two dogs that died on the Davidson Road in Abbot told police he had discovered a large chunk of meat in his driveway.

Police think someone may be leaving antifreeze-tainted meat in driveways. Five dogs in the neighboring town of Monson died after seizures in the past five months. One of the dog’s owners found a meatball in her driveway and later discarded it.

The dogs that perished either were bleeding from the mouth, had a seizure, or went into convulsions before their deaths, according to Joseph Guyotte, the region’s animal control officer. Two other dogs were taken to animal hospitals with the same symptoms and have survived, he said.

“People have got to check their yards,” Guyotte said. “People need to keep their eyes open and check their yards before letting their dogs run around.”

The dog owner from Abbot told police Monday that his two dogs died in about a three-week span from no known cause, according to Guyotte.

Guyotte said one of the man’s dogs, a seven-year-old Pekinese, died about three weeks ago. It was when his 11-year-old husky died Monday that suspicions arose, he said.

The man told Guyotte that a family member saw a big chunk of meat in the driveway when she left to go to school Monday, but said nothing.

The next day, the man said he saw the meat and put it in the back of his truck. It didn’t occur to him then that there was anything suspicious about the meat or that someone may have deliberately placed it there. He just found it unusual, Guyotte said.

On Thursday, the man’s husky suffered a bloody nose and family members thought the dog had bumped into something.

The dog was lethargic the next day, and on Saturday it had vomited throughout the house. The owner took the dog to a local veterinary, but it died Monday night, he said. The veterinarian suggested the meat be tested for poison, Guyotte said.

Guyotte said he has turned the piece of the meat over to the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department for testing.

Local officials are looking for a laboratory that can produce some results, he said.