Achsa liked to play fetch. Although she barked at strangers and other dogs, she never became a problem with the neighbors.

But on the morning of Sept. 1, Achsa was found lying lifeless in her doghouse in the backyard on Nightingale Drive.

"She was poisoned, for sure," said Pentacoff, 72. "She had white foam under her mouth. Everything was torn in her doghouse. She died a violent death."

If Pentacoff is right, Achsa would be the third dog poisoned to death in Willow Glen within two months.

The first case occurred on July 28, when the Wallbergs on Glenfield Drive reported to the San Jose Police Department that they suspected their two dogs had been poisoned to death. Officials at San Jose Animal Care & Services say no other cases have been reported.

Pentacoff took Achsa to the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, 2530 Lafayette St., in Santa Clara. He didn't inform the police of Achsa's death because he felt the police could do nothing about it except put the case in their records.

Pentacoff said he was positive that his dog was poisoned because of his years of dog-raising experience.

"Normally, when a dog is sick, there are symptoms. It doesn't play or doesn't eat," he said. "It doesn't just lie there and die."

Pentacoff played fetch with Achsa on the afternoon of Aug. 31 in his backyard.

"She showed no signs of being sick," he said. "She was very healthy."

That night, around 9:30, he locked Achsa in her doghouse in the backyard as usual. The next morning, Pentacoff found it strange that Achsa didn't greet him at the gate, waiting for her treat.

"I called her but there was no response," he said. "Then I found her dead in her doghouse."

Pentacoff said he suspected Achsa might have been poisoned by neighborhood teenagers because they sometimes threw rocks at her when they rode bikes on the riverbank of Coyote Creek, which is right behind his backyard.

"They might have thrown a piece of meat stuffed with poison or snail bait," he said.

Pentacoff said he couldn't find anything suspicious in his backyard. And he heard nothing during the night of Aug. 31, since he sleeps in the master room in the front part of the house.

He is worried that his dog was poisoned by someone who wanted to break into the house.

"We have had two robberies in 42 years. That was why we got the dog in the first place," he said. "I have to set the alarm now before I go to bed just in case someone might try to get in."

The news shocked neighbors.

Gayle Rankin, who lives one block away from Pentacoff on Ironwood Drive, said she didn't know Achsa had been killed.

"I always walked my dog on the other side of the sidewalk because the two dogs would bark at each other," Pankin said. "We have many intense dog lovers in the neighborhood. It is terrible if the dog was poisoned."

Rankin said she would spread the word, raising awareness among other dog owners.

Although there is no way to find out whether Ascha was indeed poisoned, since Pentacoff didn't order an investigation, a toxicology report from three weeks ago confirmed that the Wallbergs' two dogs had been poisoned to death. No further details can be released since the case is under investigation.

Pentacoff said he is considering getting another dog. But he will keep the dog inside the house at night instead of in the backyard.

"I don't want to see another dog go through that," Pentacoff said.