She drove up on dead dogs, seven total, on the side of Morgan Academy Road in Union County this weekend. She says a Union County Sheriff’s Deputy told her a Department of Transportation crew would pick up the dogs. But Horne was thinking on her feet, and said no, she wanted to take two of the animals’ bodies to be examined by her vet.
She says, “If you’re telling me an investigation is underway, how can it really be underway if you’re disposing of the body?”
It was unusual, after all: the animals didn’t have any obvious wounds. They weren’t horribly underweight. And the chance of seven dogs being hit by a car at the same time? Unlikely.
Horne says, “My husband came back out with me, we put two of the dogs in our truck and I drove to the Ballantyne Vet Clinic.”
The results from the vet came back quickly. Dr. Josh Humphrey says the dogs had been shot, telling WCCB of one specifically, “The bullet snapped its neck.” He provided WCCB with x-rays of the male dog and female dog he examined. He also retrieved the bullet from one dog, and is keeping it for investigators. He tells WCCB, “Maybe someone in the area knows someone who had a bunch of dogs and now doesn’t. That may be the best we can hope for.”
Horne is hopeful, too, saying, “Somebody who does something like this, they’re typically proud of the fact they did this. And they will tell someone.”
She picked up the remaining five dead dogs and gave them all names. A company called Faithful Companion donated cremation services. The Sheriff’s Office tells WCCB a detective has been assigned to the case, and this could be “possibly animal cruelty, but depends on (the) circumstances.”
(WCCB - Jan 30, 2017)
