....speechless.....

SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (April 4) - At first, piles of skinned animals, mostly foxes and coyotes, turned up on the edges of dirt roads in this semi-rural community outside Ann Arbor.

Carlos Osorio, AP
A sign sends a message to the mystery killer or killers of dogs, foxes and coyotes near an area of Superior Township, Mich., where mutilated carcasses were found at the side of the road.

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Though gruesome, they looked like little more than the work of a sloppy trapper too lazy to properly dispose of the carcasses.

Things took a more shocking turn on March 16, when what appeared to be someone's pet was found along with more skinned coyotes. The Rottweiler had been decapitated and its feet were bound with duct tape.

Since then, eight more dead dogs, including three without heads, have been discovered by residents and investigators with the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

Despite a reward that has swelled to at least $18,000 with donations from community members, officials have so far been unable to determine even who the dogs belonged to.

The mysterious dog deaths - now being investigated separately from the wild animal carcasses - have rattled this picturesque Washtenaw County township, dominated by empty fields and wooded preserves and dotted with old, red barns.

"There's one really, really disturbed person out there, or a couple of disturbed people."
-- Kim Hart, whose dog Duke is missing

Residents are keeping a close eye on their pets, and some have voiced fears that whoever is capable of killing and mutilating dogs is a danger to humans as well.

The community's outrage was on display recently on Vreeland Road, near the site where a medium-sized yellow dog, thought to be some kind of terrier, was found March 22.

"You will be caught! U will be punished U will Burn in Hell by God," read a sign nailed to a tree.

Township resident Kim Hart said she fears Duke, her 2-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, may have fallen victim to the dog killer or killers. He has been missing since Feb. 16.

"There's one really, really disturbed person out there, or a couple of disturbed people," said Hart, 33. "I'm hoping, obviously, that he doesn't have my dog."

Officials initially believed that the dead dogs may have gotten caught in traps, but as more dogs have been discovered, that seems less likely, said Tanya Hilgendorf, the Humane Society's executive director.

The nine dogs include three Rottweilers and three pit bulls. Hilgendorf noted that while both kinds of dogs can make good pets, they also are considered "bully breeds" and can be common "among young men who probably have aggressive tendencies." She declined to say whether that was considered significant to the investigation.

The remaining dogs are a terrier, a Labrador mix and a cocker spaniel.

Hilgendorf said none of the dogs bears signs that they were used in dogfighting and it's not clear whether they are from the area.


Investigators have not matched any of the dogs with those on the Humane Society's missing list, which takes reports from all of Washtenaw County. Hilgendorf said it's hard to draw any conclusions from that, since the decapitations, as well as decomposition, makes identifying the dogs difficult.

If they are being brought in from somewhere else, Superior Township would make a good place to drop off evidence of illicit activity. The 36-square-mile township of about 11,000 people is a rural oasis surrounded by rapid development. However, whoever dumped the dogs made little effort to hide them, dumping them on the roadside.

Willful and malicious infliction of injury to animals, including killing, is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Until anyone is charged with the crimes, Hart is taking no chances with her remaining dog, 10-year-old Daisy, who is being kept on a cable.

"I don't want to take a chance of anything happening and somebody just trying to grab her," Hart said. "I'm just very protective, and this is exactly why."



04/04/06 03:11 EDT

 

wow.................what do u say to that execpt i hope they get those or the one person who is doing this and do the same thing do that i am both shocked and desgusted by this i wish there was some thing i could i ill pay have the gas and drive for who ever wnatto roll down there and do this merceanry style

 

this is in the next county over from me,,real close,,personally,,I think it is a trapper,,snaring them in a neck hold and then not wanting to get caught with snare "burn" around their necks,,,not that it makes it right,,its still pretty sick,,the only thing that puzzles me,,is where are the dogs coming from? no-one that I know of has reported these dogs missing,,not sure where these dogs are coming from. unless its way sicker then I know

 

yeah some night vision and a rifle would be useful in this scenario. sick bastards regarless of if they were snared or other.

 

Sick, sick, sick. Some people are just plain sick.

This is one of those times that a deer stand, camo and NVG would come in handy. And a camcorder of course.

 

I am a little farther away, but it still makes me uneasy thinking about some sick a** out there doing this. I wish they made hunting permits to take these kind of individuals out of society. I would be the first in line on opening day.

 

Edit* posted in article

 

There was one blue female pit with white markings, one solid blue male and a red male. Pound 4 Pound kennels put on their website that Blue Bell was stolen about a week before this all happened. Blue Bell is a blue female with white markings. I hope that wasn't her. The Superior Township PD called me to see if I thaught the dogs were faught because I foster/rescue fighting dogs from the Detroit area. There wern't any scars on their legs or chests and they looked in good condition aside from the obvious. There are alot of bully/gaurd dog haters here. When I walk China people just come up to me and say I'm crazy for owning one and that she'll turn on my nieces (4 & 6 yrs). One lady even told me her grandson was killed by a white Pit Bull like China but it was the long-haired variety!? :confused: I explained to her that their is no long-haired pit and she just walked away with an aditued like I was an irrisponsible owner and knew nothing about the breed.:mad:

 

yeah, people never cease to amaze me....

VERY sad..... VERY disturbing....

 

That is absolutely horrible. These are the instances that I believe an "eye for an eye" law should be put to good use. When/if they catch the person(s), they should inflict everything on them that they put the animals through.

I also agree with Hoyden, Jankab, and Seal 100%. Scum like this has no right to live IMO.