Dog found dead - mutilated, burned with blowtorch
Amsterdam, NY (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
County: Montgomery

Disposition: Open

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Police are searching for a man who severed the tail and feet of a dog and burned its body.

A neighbor walking near 82 Prospect St. found the animal's body wrapped in plastic and rags on Saturday, police said. The mixed breed pit bull terrier appeared to be the victim of animal cruelty.

An autopsy will be conducted today to determine if the dog was alive while it was mutilated, Sgt. Patrick Miller said.

Amsterdam police on Sunday said they have identified a suspect, described as a young adult male, but did not release his name. Miller said the suspect fled before he could be interviewed on Saturday.

"I hope this guy turns himself in to give his side of the story," Miller said. "Maybe the dog was dead when he decided to hack it up."

Police were still searching for the suspect on Sunday and Miller expects that he will apprehended within the week.

The suspect told neighbors conflicting stories about what happened to the dog, said Chris Turnbull, who lives near the vacant home where the animal's body was discovered. Turnbull said the suspect told neighbors he had given away the dog, that it ran away and that he had given it back to its original owner because it was sick.

She said he also had a chihuahua that vanished earlier this year.

Turnbull said the suspect had walked the dog every day until two weeks ago, when it suddenly disappeared. She said the suspect was among people on the block who complained about the smell coming from 82 Prospect St.

"I was shocked," Turnbull said. "Our street was never like this, it was a quiet street. ... That was a friendly dog."

The incident comes in the wake of the torture deaths of two cats this summer in separate cases in Troy. In June, a cat that had been tortured while still alive was found dead inside a weighted yellow luggage bag in the river near Bruno Machinery. In July, a cat with a six-inch metal object, possibly a nail from a nail gun, shot into its head was found on the Congress Street bridge.

A reward of $7,500 was offered for information leading to an arrest in that case. No one has been apprehended. Animal abuse is a felony under Buster's Law.

References

• - Oct 13, 2008

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