Missing dog found mauled

Through a social network site, it only took a few days to locate the owner of a dog that went missing in Dresden recently. While the dog’s owner has some closure into her pet’s disappearance, questions such as why and what actually happened still linger.
A picture of a mangled Chihuahua posted on Facebook by Kimberly Barnett-Sledd Friday evening circulated across the region quickly. Shock and outrage followed as people seemed eager to hit the “share” button.
Sledd said her friend was walking their dogs near Rock McClain Road just outside of Dresden Friday around 5:40 that evening when he noticed a four-door Oldsmobile driven by a black male toss a white trash bag onto the side of the road.
Sledd said her friend thought nothing of the discarded garbage, as it is common in rural parts of the county, until their Retriever picked up the bag and delivered it to his owner. Inside the bag was a female Chihuahua, badly gashed and struggling for life, according to Sledd.
In an effort to seek medical attention for the wounded animal, Sledd said she attempted to locate a veterinarian’s office which would be open that evening.
It was while she was making phone calls the little dog eventuallydied from the apparent trauma she had suffered.
Sledd said a phone call to the local police department yielded no results as officers did not make any physical notes of the incident while at her home.
The Good Samaritan’s next course of action led her to the owner of the dog through Facebook.
Andrea Sowell said last week she had let her six-year-old Chihuahua Precious out to use the bathroom. Precious typically returns to the door after conducting her business, but that night, she didn’t come home, according to Sowell.
The dog’s owner said Precious was susceptible to cold weather and she knew something was wrong when her pet didn’t return after 24 hours.
Sowell chalked it up to a wild animal or car accident.
Sledd said Precious’ body looked as if she had been in a “tug of war.”
“If this isn’t a sign of dog fighting, I don’t know what is. I have heard about people stealing smaller dogs to use them as ‘bait’ dogs in dog fighting. This little dog did not deserve that. She was still alive when she was dumped on the side of the road, left there to die,” Sledd said Monday.
Sledd buried the dog and began a vigorous campaign on Facebook to spread Precious’ story.
“After talking with the cops I became more concerned about finding the owner of the dog so that they would not continue to worry about their dog,” Sledd said.
Weakley County Sheriff’s investigator Randall McGowan said on Monday he was not aware of the incident, but urged anyone with any information regarding dog fighting or animal thefts to report it to the local police departments.
“Dog fighting is happening right here in Weakley County and we need to put a stop to it,” Sledd added.

WCP 1.31.12