Two pet dogs are lucky to be alive after "meat balls stuffed with Ratsak" were thrown over a Baranduda fence.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the community is worried the "dog baiting" will continue if the culprit doesn't move away, or get caught.
Aude Sutherland found three tennis ball size meat balls filled with poisonous pellets used to bait rats in her Foxglove Terrace backyard shortly after 7pm on Sunday night.
"We came home and heard the dogs barking like there was someone at the back fence," she said.
"We back onto a reserve and when we opened the back door the dogs came running in with what we thought were new tennis balls.
"We quickly noticed they were balls of sausage meat stuffed with Ratsak."
Ms Sutherland said her brother jumped the back fence to see if he could find anyone who might have seen anything.
"He came across this guy just standing there apparently going to the toilet," she said.
"He said he didn't know anything about the dogs being baited but had come out because the dogs were barking."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The "suspicious man" has been seen before Ms Sutherland said.
"He matches the description of a man who about six months ago went around putting notes in all the streets letterboxes about dogs barking," she said.
"It is just scary to think what could have happened not just to our dogs but if a child go hold of it.
"They could have been dead in an instant if they swallowed any of the Ratsak."
The two dogs, a Kelpie and a Jack Russell cross, were unharmed but the neighbourhood are now on "high alert".
"We can't rest easy until this guy moves away," Ms Sutherland said.
"We have told all the neighbours and many of them have kids under two so this is a really scary situation for parents.
"I would hope someone would come and have a discussion with us about barking dogs before going to these lengths.
"It is a dramatic escalation and the police and council have been notified but we are going to remain vigilant before a dog or child gets hurt."
Ms Sutherland said she is concerned the man is "willing to go to these lengths" to stop the dogs from barking.
"Death isn't the answer," she said.
"Dogs bark but ours are no different to any other neighbourhood dogs, everyone has dogs these days, it is just a part of suburbia.
"I just hope the man realises what he has done and either moves away or doesn't even think about doing it again - it is hard to imagine what was going through his head."
Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here