But while the Forster couple’s faith in society has become unstuck, they’re not afraid to speak out against the cowards who they say killed their beloved pet.

Related: Vet practice manager has also receive threats...click here

Lee recently distributed about 1800 flyers around her neighbourhood to warn people about what happened to their dog.

She said on January 7 at about midnight Ralf, a dog born with cerebral damage, was found dead in the canal behind their Forster Keys house.

“We pulled him out and tried to revive him, he spewed blood and other stomach contents and was frothing at the mouth which is a result of, we are told, rat poison,” Lee said.

“Dogs apparently go to water to drink after ingesting rat poison as it makes them thirsty.”

Before finding Ralf in the canal Lee and George went outside to investigate a roast chicken smell.

They found a small piece of chicken on the ground at the back of the shed on the grass of their property. 

They then went next door, an empty property, and found two more small pieces of chicken on the slipway.

Lee said it looked as if the chicken was thrown over the fence.

But Ralf is not the first of their dogs to have died in the canal.

“Early in May last year we arrived home to find our six-month-old dog Sam dead in the canal,” she said.

“At this time we thought Sam had drowned, but we now feel this is not right.”

And then three weeks after Sam’s drowning the Hawryluks’ six-month-old kitten Patch disappeared.

“What if we had had kids and they picked up the bait?” Lee said.

“This has shaken our faith in our neighbours sadly. We are still both upset and have our moments of tears.”

After Lee dropped off the 1800 flyers she spoke to other people whose pets were threatened, both in the Forster Keys area and in the surrounding region.

One of the neighbours that Lee spoke to were Forster Keys residents Marcia and Richard Neal.

A few months ago the Neals received an anonymous letter written on a type writer that said their dogs Milo and Stitch had barked until 4am. 

“It went on to say that if we didn’t do anything about the barking, they would,” Marcia said.

“When we received the letter I fixed the grammar, because it was so poorly written, and threw it away.”

 Marcia said she did not contact the police at the time, but now has, after receiving the Hawryluks’ note.  

Lee also spoke to another lady who lives outside of Forster Keys who received an anonymous note. 

That person thought they knew who it was and confronted them about it. 

Lee said she spoke to a man who lives a few doors from them whose garage door was spray-painted with an offensive and abusive message targeting their dog on January 15.

Another man who lives near South St Forster said a few years ago his dog was baited three times.

The vet saved it twice, but was unable to do so on the third time.

Lee hopes if people think their dog was baited, or received threats they would call the police.

On the night of Ralf’s death Lee called the police.

“The police said it could wait until the morning,” Lee said.

“But I said we wanted them to come now as this is the third animal we have lost and we had evidence and what we believed was a poisoning of our dog.  

“The police arrived at 12.30am and said there was nothing they could do. They did not look around or really take any interest at all.  The female police officer took my name and phone number and said she would record this call out. They suggested it was a council matter.”

After calling the Great Lakes Council and speaking with a ranger, they said to contact the police.

A Great Lakes Council spokeswoman said the rangers were aware of the anonymous letters.

“If anyone has any information contact council,” she said.

She also said on their website, after searching pets, the correct way to deal with animals could be found.

“People are talking out there,” Lee said.

“Someone will say something to someone, whether they boast about it over a beer, I don’t know.

“Hopefully getting the spreading the word about what is happening will bring that person out so no one has to go through what George and I are going through.”