HANCOCK COUNTY — Calling it a “horrific scene,” officials with animal management are investigating the death of a young dog discovered in a field near the area of County Roads 300N and 375E.
Amanda Dehoney, director of Greenfield-Hancock County Animal Management, said the dog, found Tuesday by a farmer who was working in a field, had suffered severe head injuries. She said investigators don’t think the injuries were accidental.
The dog, believed to be about 11 months old, was described as a black and white pit bull mix.
Dehoney said the remains of the dog were taken to Purdue University, where they will be examined to determine how the animal died.
The dog and his kennel were found by longtime county farmer John Shaw. Late last week he found the dog’s kennel, full of blood, feces, and a bowl for food and water, in his bean field. He contacted a local veterinarian to see if they had treated a traumatized dog, but that’s as far as his investigation could go.
Tuesday evening, as he and a friend were cutting beans not far from where he had spotted the kennel, they found the dog.
“You just hate to see that,” Shaw said. “There are too many rescues out there if you don’t want an animal.”
Officials have learned the dog was adopted from Indianapolis Animal Care and Control via a identity chip that had been implanted. The person who originally adopted the dog told Hancock shelter officials he gave the dog, whose name was Boss, to another person.
“We’re in contact with the original adopter who is trying to give us as much information as they can as to who they gave the dog to,” Dehoney said. “That’s kind of where we are right now.”
Dehoney noted these types of calls are rare in the county and can take their toll on officers who go out to investigate. She could recall this being only the second time they’ve had to deal with the death of a dog who may have been deliberately killed.
“We’re used to going out dealing with a lost dog, or a dog bite, but nothing this heart-wrenching,” she said. “This was gruesome, and it was cruel.”
Dehoney said investigators are doing everything they can to determine what happened to the dog and find the person who is responsible.
“We want to find out what happened to this poor dog and who did it and bring that person to justice if we can,” she said.
Officials from the shelter will work with the prosecutor’s office directly should they be able to find the person responsible. Animal cruelty is considered a felony punishable by up to 2½ years in prison or jail and/or a fine up to $10,000.
Shelter officials said anyone who adopts an animal and finds they cannot care for it should return it to the shelter from which they adopted it. Shelter officials would rather take back an animal and make sure it is safe than see it end up in a harmful situation, they said.
Officials from Indianapolis Animal Care and Control could not be reached for comment. The Marion County shelter, which frequently is caring for as many as 900 animals, does not turn away people who want to surrender pets. Neither does the Hancock County shelter, which is also frequently at capacity with unwanted animals. Both agencies try to work with pet owners so animals can find stable homes.
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