Truffle dog may have had poison

The death of a working truffle-sniffer dog while chained outside his home has left a Gisborne family devastated.

Police originally thought Bobby, an 11-year-old bearded collie, had been bludgeoned to death because he was found with blood coming out of his nose and mouth.

But they now believe he was either poisoned or had a heart attack through the stress of seeing intruders on the property.

Known as Hairy Maclary to many who visited him at Alan and Lynley Hall's farm, Bobby died during a botched burglary on Saturday.

"He was more than just our livelihood, he lived on the property. He was our house pet, he grew up with our kids," Mr Hall said.

Bobby was on a long wire run at the Waerengaahika house, 13km northwest of Gisborne.

"It was broad daylight. He would have been going ballistic," Mr Hall said.

"If they had just come up to him, he would have licked them to death."

Police said they wanted to hear from anybody who may have seen any suspicious vehicles in the area.

Truffles are a delicacy that grow under trees injected with truffle fungi, and Bobby was one of two proven truffle-finding dogs in the country. Mr Hall paid about $3500 for him in 1999 but said he would cost much more to replace.

- NZPA