SEARSPORT, Maine — Police are looking for a “sick” person who shot three dogs dead and left them on the side of the road.
Patrolman Eric Bonney, who is also one of the town’s animal control officers, said the dogs were shot on two separate occasions and left at the same exact spot on the Nickels Road. One dog was killed in September, the other two last Thursday.
“This is pretty sickening,” Bonney said Tuesday. “You just can’t imagine someone doing this. It’s sick.”
Bonney said he and Police Chief Dick LaHaye found a two-year old male great Dane and four-month old female great Dane at approximately 2 p.m. Dec. 4 after being alerted by a caller. The male had been shot multiple times, the female pup once. Both were left on a piece of plastic.
The great Danes were taken to Blake Veterinary Hospital in Northport where it was officially determined they had been shot. Bonney said he asked that the dogs be autopsied in hopes of recovering bullets or fragments that could be used as evidence.
Bonney said the case was eerily similar to one investigated by animal control officer Rory McLaughlin in September. That case involved a Rotweiler that was found shot dead and also left on a piece of plastic on the Nickels Road.
“These are rare, rare cases, especially for Searsport,” Bonney said. “We feel they are related because all three dogs were left in the same spot.”
The three dogs had gotten free and were running at large when they were killed, Bonney said. Their owners lived within a mile of the Nickels Road, he said.
Bonney said that if the person or persons responsible were caught they would likely be charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty and aggravated criminal mischief. He said the crimes are considered felonies because the pets were worth thousands of dollars.