By Jaclyn Allen, 7NEWS Reporter
From: ABC7 News
LOVELAND, Colo. — Larimer Humane Society is investigating two suspicious animal deaths involving dogs found dead and bound near bodies of water.
Stacee Thomas and her husband were walking their dog last Thursday when they noticed a life preserver washed up by the Big Thompson River.
“He picked it up, and there was something attached to it,” said Thomas. “It just was white and soggy, and I was like, ‘What’s that?’”
Forensic testing has since shown the decomposed animal was a 6-month-old puppy that had been decapitated.
“The puppy was tied to a life preserver and the paws were tied with a nylon rope,” said Stephanie Ashley, a spokeswoman for the Larimer Humane Society.
Five days earlier, Ashley said, Larimer Humane Society investigated a similar report, after an animal washed onto the shore at Loveland’s Horseshoe Lake.
A necropsy confirmed it was a female dog, whose muzzle and front paws had been bound with duck tape, said Ashley.
“We can’t confirm whether the cases are linked at this time,” said Ashley. “We can say that there are similarities, but they came to us as two separate leads, so we’re treating them at this point as two separate cases.
”Ashley said both animals apparently died about three weeks ago, but investigators don’t know who their owners were because they weren’t microchipped.
She said they are working with the Loveland police to process forensic evidence, and they are asking people with information to call Crime Stoppers at 970-221-6868 .
Read more: ABC7 News
