Beheaded Dogs Are Found Among Other Slain Animals

By Maryanne George, Detroit Free Press

Mar. 24–Two dogs found along rural roads in northeastern Washtenaw County within a week likely were caught in snare traps used by fur trappers and then beheaded to send a twisted message, an investigator for the Humane Society of Huron Valley said Thursday.

A 40-pound female terrier mix was found Wednesday off Vreeland Road near Gotfredson Road in Superior Township, said Tanya Hilgendorf, executive director of the society. The decapitated dog had been dead for a couple of weeks and was found with a decaying deer carcass.

A few miles away, on March 16, a female rottweiler was found decapitated, its front and back feet bound by duct tape, on Harris Road near Geddes Road. That dog was next to five carcasses of skinned, beheaded coyotes, Hilgendorf said. Seven other carcasses of skinned coyotes have been found at the same location since January.

A total of 26 animals have been found within a three-mile area in eastern Superior Township since January.

On Thursday, investigators found four deer, two foxes that had been skinned and one coyote at Warren and Gotfredson roads, Hilgendorf said. All had been decapitated, she said.

“We think these incidents show enough similarities to be the work of the same person,” Hilgendorf said.

The legal trapping season for coyotes and foxes was Oct. 15-March 1. But killing a dog is a felony, with a penalty of up to four years in prison, she said.

There is a $5,100 reward for information. Call 734-662-5585 anytime.

Contact MARYANNE GEORGE mageorge@freepress.com.

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