NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. (April, 4, 2014) — A family in Grant said that their 19-month-old American Bulldog named Darby was intentionally killed, and want the person responsible to be arrested.
Nora Jacobson said that her family got their dog Darby when she was only eight-weeks-old.
On Wednesday, Jacobson said that Darby went missing.
While she was at school, she said that she got a call from a friend letting her know Darby had been found laying on their back patio, and not moving.
“They let me know Darby was on our back patio, and it looked like she was dead,” said Jacobson.
Jacobson said that she raced home as fast as she could.
“I started searching her body to see if she had been hit by a car and I had to pull her out and there was a puddle of blood from where her head was laying.”
Jacobson called police, and a veterinarian conducted an autopsy which concluded it’s “unlikely” the dog died as a result of being hit by a car.
Jacobson said even if her dog was hit by a car and tried to walk home before dying, there would have been a trail of blood.
The family believes someone killed their dog and returned her body.
Jacobson said Darby was the perfect family pet, and great with her three small children.
Jacobson also said there have been issues with people in the neighborhood, and threats against their dog’s life had been made in the past.
The family has a trail cam, and after checking it to see if it captured any footage of somebody returning the dog, they said they discovered the memory card was missing.
“I just lost a member of my family. It’s murder. I want them to pay. I want them to be held accountable,” said Jacobson.
Michigan State Police said Friday evening that their investigation is ongoing.