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This story is based on true events and deals with animal cruelty. It may not be suitable for very young listeners.

A serial dog killer is on the loose in a wealthy Hong Kong neighborhood. For the past 20 years someone has been leaving chicken, laced with poison, along Bowen Road, a popular path for joggers and dog walkers in Hong Kong. More than 100 dogs have been poisoned since 1989. The authorities have never caught the person (or persons) responsible. There is currently a $150,000 reward in Hong Kong currency ($19,000 U.S./15,000 euros) for information that leads to the arrest of this villain.

I wrote “El carnicero de Bowen Road” after reading a news article about the case in the Wall Street Journal. And while the real-life serial killer of Bowen Road doesn’t carve up his/her victims, to me he (or she) is a butcher just the same. On the remote chance anybody out there reading this blog entry has information that can help the Hong Kong authorities catch this dirty rotten scoundrel, please contact the Hong Kong SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Here’s the web site address: http://www.spca.org.hk/

Get the bilingual transcript for “El carnicero de Bowen Road” in Cody’s Cuentos online store.

Photo by Joan Vincent, used under license from iStockPhoto.com