Ten-year-old girl finds her puppy named Snoopy hanging dead from tree in random attack

MASSACHUSETTS -- A Massachusetts 10-year-old girl got the fright of a lifetime Monday after she found her 14-week-old puppy named Snoopy hanging dead from a tree in their backyard.

The attack has left the Clark family fearing for their own lives, since a neighbor told them that she's noticed a man coming in and out of the woods behind their Winchendon home.

Now they're offering a $500 reward for information that will lead to the capture of the person responsible for the gruesome act. 

'They murdered my pet,' mother Allyson Clark told the Worcester Telegram. 'I want them found. I want them tried. I want them to go to jail for what they've done.'

Mrs Clark was preparing dinner Monday afternoon when she put Snoopy outside by himself for the first time.

She says she took the dog outside and attached his lead to the dog house and went back into the kitchen.

About 25 minutes later, Mrs Clark sent her 10-year-old daughter Katelyn outside to fetch the dog, and the young girl found the family puppy dangling from a rope attached to a tree.

That's when Katelyn got her older sister Brittany to come help bring the dog down and the 20-year-old let out a scream.

'He's dead. He's dead. Someone hung him,' Mrs Clark says she yelled.

'He was tied in so many knots,' Mrs Clark told the Sentinel & Enterprise. 'It took two of us to untie him.'

'It's the sickest thing I've seen in my life,' she added.

The shocked family first decided to bury the dog, but later got the police involved.

The family called 911 around 7pm and police arrived to take pictures, and exhumed the puppy's body for evidence.

Local animal control and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals are also involved.

Mrs Clark says she has no idea why someone would want to hurt her dog, and while they are not close with their neighbors - they are friendly.

She doesn't believe the dog could have gotten tangled on its own and believes a stranger is responsible. 

After the attack, one neighbor said she's noticed a man walking in and out of the forest behind the Clark's back yard.

'She said she had seen a gentleman keep coming out of our woods, even in the middle of night,' she said. 'She thought we had many sons, but we only have one son and three daughters.'

Now the whole family is scared since Mrs Clark has been noticing strange noises in the night outside their home - though she originally believed it to be wild animals.

'My 10-year-old is having nightmares,' she said. 'She can't sleep.'

The Clark's home is at a dead end and backs up to a forested swamp area.

Their home already has a security system, but they are looking into installing security cameras around the home.

While they only had Snoopy for about 4 weeks, Mrs Clark says that he brought joy and life to the house.

'He was our baby,' she said.

For now, Mrs Clark won't be letting her children or their other pets outside alone. The family started advertising a $100 reward for information on the attack, but have since raised the amount to $500 following an outpouring of support.

'I just want justice for Snoopy,' she said. 

(Daily Mail - April 17, 2014)