WARNING: The details in this article are disturbing.
Police are investigating after a dog was found dead with its paws bound together in a southeast Edmonton park in December.
Police said on Dec. 26, people living near Kittlitz Park in The Meadows neighbourhood found the body of a medium-sized, neutered male German shepherd/pitbull cross that’s believed to have been about three years old.
The dog had light brown hair and dark shading around his ears, muzzle and tail.
Using the dog’s microchip, police in the animal cruelty investigation unit (ACIU) were able to obtain a picture of the dog as a puppy.
The owners are unknown to police, though investigators believe the dog had been adopted.
CCTV footage taken at 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 25 shows a person dragging the dog by a rope eastbound on the sidewalk of 36A Avenue at 28A Street, wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants with a white stripe.
The dog was motionless and police say they believe he was dead at the time.
That person was then seen dragging the dog in the snow and running south towards 28A Street.
Sgt. Olena Fedorovich, supervisor of the ACIU, said investigators are waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam to determine the cause of death, as well as if the dog was abused before he died.
“The conditon of the animal when the officers found it led the officers to believe that (there’s) something very, very suspicious about this,” she said.
A dark-coloured Nissan Altima from 2002-2007 was seen travelling east on 36A Avenue shortly after the animal was left.
“These types of investigations are difficult as they involve senseless violence against vulnerable animals who don’t have a voice,” said Fedorovich.
“Violence against animals can be a precursor to violent offenses against people, so it is important that we work to identify those involved.”
Officers want to identify the person of interest who dragged the dog and left it in the snow and want to talk to the person who drove by shortly after the person disposed of the dog.