Dog shot with pellet gun, resulting in death - Hamilton, VA

Thursday, Jul 21, 2005

For the Moore family, the loss of their dog amounts to the loss of a family member. Cheyenne, their 4-year-old beagle-Chihuahua mix, was mysteriously shot on the afternoon of July 21 in the family's Hamilton back yard.

"We called her our baby girl," said Rebecca Moore.

Moore said she was sitting on the couch watching TV when it happened. "My 8-year-old son was standing at the back door when he just saw her kind of sit down."

Moore said that neither she nor her other children, who were also in the house, heard any sounds other than the dog's "excruciating yelp." Moore's husband, Christopher, was at work at the time of the shooting.

The bullet that struck the dog shattered its spine, and consequently the dog had to be put down, according to Moore.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and Animal Control are working on the investigation. Authorities suspect the weapon was a high-powered pellet gun, according to Laura Danis, LCAC's public relation's coordinator.

The bullet was retrieved from Cheyenne's body Saturday and taken to a lab yesterday, according to authorities.

Moore added that the family has three other puppies, and they are afraid to let them loose in the back yard. "We're worried that they're a target, if this is personal," said Moore. "We're also afraid for our neighbors, because a lot of them have animals."

As far as she knows, Moore said there were no complaints from neighbors about Cheyenne. "We spoiled her to the point where when she saw people, she would bark for attention. But no one ever complained about her."

Currently, a suspect is in custody, according to Danis, although no details have been released as to who the suspect is or what, if any, connection the suspect has to the Moore family.

Anyone with information is asked to call Loudoun County Animal Control at 703-777-0406.

References

• Loudoun Times-Mirror - July 26, 2005

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