Meat laced with glass shards was found by two neighbours in North Dallas Creative Commons

Pet owners in North Dallas are reporting finding raw meatballs filled with glass in their backyards. The Dallas Police Department is investigating after at least two residents found the dangerous meat products in their yards.

Paul Burkhalter told the Dallas Morning News he first found two glass-filled meat patties in his backyard on 11 June. "It's insane to think any of your neighbours would do something like this," he said.

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Burkhalter said when he found the first one, he threw it away without thinking much about it. But when a second patty appeared, he decided to open it and found glass inside.

Dallas police came to Burkhalter's home and filed a report but never named any suspects, the Morning News reported.

He said his neighbour Cathi Holtsclaw also found meat mixed with glass shards in her yard just a day after he did. Holtsclaw again found the glass-filled meat last week. "I just started crying because all I could think about was if my dogs had gotten ahold of it," Holtsclaw told KTVT-TV.

"I just get sick to my stomach," she added. "They're my children."

The two neighbours believe the meat is being left deliberately in their yards. "I feel very confident that it's deliberate now," Holtsclaw said. "I'm worried my dogs are going to die to someone else's dogs are going to die."

Bukhalter called the incidents bizarre. "Everyone in the neighbourhood is pretty upset about it," he said. Bukhalter said that he found an anonymous note in his door about a year ago saying his dogs were "a nuisance" but said it was the only time someone had complained about his pets.

Both pet owners admitted their dogs bark on occasion but said it is never constant and no one has reported the animals. "If this is a neighbour and you've got an issue, why don't you come talk to us about it? Why do something like this? I don't understand it," Holtzclaw said.