Beloved dog dies, second fights for life after suspected poisoning near children's park on the Gold Coast

A Gold Coast family is mourning one dog and fighting to save another after they were allegedly poisoned near a children’s playground in what police are now investigating as a deliberate act.

Arlo and his younger sister Mika, two much-loved ridgebacks, became violently ill after encountering suspected poison in bushland behind Rivertree Park in Helensvale.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dogs poisoned by deadly trap at Gold Coast park

“The cries were just horrendous. He stopped breathing,” owner Karen Price said.

Owner Calvin desperately tried to save Arlo, performing chest compressions as they rushed him to the vet, but it was too late.

“By the time he got down here, and he opened the tray up, he was gone,” Price said.

The cause is believed to be a cruel trap deliberately set in the bushland with the family claiming to have discovered a drill hole in the park.

Eight-year-old Mika was given just a 20 per cent chance of survival, but in some good news for the shattered family, she is beating the odds.

“Because what had happened with Arlo, his parents were aware and they raced her straight down. Thankfully, we were able to get a successful outcome,” SASH Vets’ Dr Sarah Purcell said.

It’s believed the poison was 1080, typically used in rural areas to control wild animals. But in a suburban park, it is a serious offence now being investigated by police and the RSPCA.

“If they do ingest anything at a walk, it’s probably best to bring them down,” Purcell advised.

“I just want people to be aware of how lethal this is,” Price warned other pet owners.

A GoFundMe page is helping to cover the vet bills as this family mourns their gentle giant.