Warning: This story contains graphic content.
Police are investigating after the remains of three dogs — at least two of which were shot by a firearm — were found in a Norfolk County conservation area.
Someone called police at 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon after stumbling upon the carcasses, scattered around the St. Williams Conservation Reserve.
One of them was hidden behind vegetation, while another was placed on top of animal bones, possibly from a dog. The third was hidden beneath tree limbs.
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Norfolk County OPP spokesperson Ed Sanchuk said police are investigating the incident.
“We don’t know if these dogs were seriously injured or sick, and as a result, were dispatched in a humane fashion,” he said. “We have dogs in our family and they’re like family members. Is this a case where the dogs were buried, and animals brought the dogs back up to above the earth? I’m not sure, but we will need to try to determine that through the course of our investigation.”
Sanchuk called photos of the scene “shocking and distasteful,” vowing to “follow the evidence and take it to wherever it leads us.”
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Upper Thames River Conservation Authority biologist Scott Gillingwater posted a series of photos of the dogs, which he said were discarded at one of his research sites in Norfolk County.
A commenter identified the breeds as Treeing Walker Coonhounds, which Gillingwater estimated had been dead for varying lengths of time, based on the degree of decomposition.
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