Oregon: Homeless man allegedly beats woman's dog to death, nails its tongue to tree in city park

OREGON -- A Southeast Portland woman made a disturbing discovery in a city park last week, her missing puppy, mutilated. She believes a homeless man, who frequents the Springwater Corridor, killed her dog, Laika.

On Saturday, April 2, Carolina Guerrero found the gate leading to the backyard open. She says the front gates were locked. When she called for her dogs, only two of them ran out, Laika was gone.

Laika was a 10-month-old Pit bull - Rhodesian Ridgeback mix.

"She was the sweetest dog you could ever meet," she said.

Armed with a flier, Guerrero searched the neighborhood and conducted her own investigation. She asked neighbors, strangers, and homeless people. She posted an alert on social media. Her four-day search led her to a homeless camp at Beggars Tick Park, a city park located near Southeast 111th and Foster Avenue along the Springwater Corridor.

Guerrero says she learned that a homeless female, who is only known as "Kim," had been seen with Laika around the Springwater Corridor and some nearby convenience stores. She says several different homeless people said "Kim" had boasted about stealing the dog because "she thought it was cute."

While at the park, two homeless people told her another camper killed the dog, then buried it nearby.

Guerrero says she found Laika buried in a shallow grave with a cut to one of her hind legs. She says the dog's tongue was removed and nailed to a tree.

"When I least expected it, I saw a little piece of her ear just sticking out of the ground," Guerrero said. "It was really upsetting, extremely upsetting, but we're learning to cope with it."

A week later, on April 13, Guerrero called police to report the crime.

 

Portland police say an officer familiar with the area went to the park the following day. The officer did not find the campsite the victim had described to him. Police say it actually appeared that the park had been cleared out, as the campsites that he'd become familiar with were now also gone.

Unfortunately, a week had passed between the time when the victim found her dog and the time she called police. It's quite possible that anyone involved or anyone having knowledge of what happened to Laika has since packed up and moved.

The officer has been unable to identify "Kim" or any of the homeless people that the victim encountered during her investigation. The only information the victim had about "Kim" is that she is a white female and had purple hair at the beginning of April, per other homeless people. There is no other suspect information.

RIP Laika

Under Oregon law, theft of a companion animal is a Class C Felony. The Portland Police Bureau encourages any animal owner to report suspected theft, if there is information or evidence to indicate the animal was stolen.

Anyone with information about this theft can submit it by email to CrimeTips@PortlandOregon.gov.

(KATU - April 16, 2016)