MASSACHUSETTS -- Police are investigating what they describe as an unusual case of animal cruelty after a dog was killed during a daytime house break Tuesday on upper Loudville Road.
The home is occupied by elderly residents and their 12-year-old toy poodle, Hannah, who was killed during the break-in. A local veterinarian who examined the dog determined she died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to Easthampton Police.
“They’re OK, but they’re pretty distraught,” Easthampton Police Capt. Robert Alberti said of the homeowners. “It’s an unusual crime. Thankfully, they weren’t home.”
Alberti said the Easthampton Police Department was not releasing the names or specific address of the victims on Wednesday as the investigation continued.
Police said an undisclosed amount of cash, medication and other items were stolen from the home. Alberti said it appears someone broke the front door of the house to gain entry.
Police responded to the Loudville Road home about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday after the elderly residents returned home and became worried when their poodle did not greet them at the door as usual.
They then discovered that their home had been broken into and found Hannah dead at the bottom of the basement stairs. Investigators found blood on the basement stairs.
Easthampton police said witnesses in the area reported a possible suspect vehicle which they described as a gray or dark-colored SUV in the elderly victims’ driveway during the late morning or early afternoon hours Tuesday.
Anyone with information about suspicious vehicles or people in the area of upper Loudville Road during those hours is asked to call the Easthampton Police Department at 527-1212.
Alberti said the perpetrators will face several charges, including animal cruelty, which carries fines and penalties ranging from 2½ years in a county jail to five years in state prison.
(Gazette Net - Sept 4, 2014)
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