EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah, Jan. 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Sheriff’s officials want to find the person responsible for shooting a dog in its own Eagle Mountain backyard recently, and they’re hoping the public can help.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, spokesman for Utah County Sheriff’s Office, said people in the area are concerned about a “rash of these incidents,” because a dog was shot in November and another one in December, making this the third similar incident.
“We have no reason to believe there’s any connection, though,” Cannon said.
In this latest incident, which occurred Friday, the dog was apparently shot by a pellet gun. A pellet was found in its shoulder.
“A deputy and a detective went door to door (Monday evening) and will go out again tomorrow to see if anyone knows anything,” Cannon said.
“Maybe someone was bragging about shooting a dog, or making remarks about hating a neighbor’s dog,” he added. “If anyone heard something like this, that may have sounded a little odd, it could help us to know about it. Or if someone saw a person target-shooting in the area, we’d like to know.”
Cannon said officials currently have no leads and no idea of the motivation behind the shooting.
“If a dog is attacking livestock or chickens, that’s a reason. But this dog was secured in the backyard of the home, like it’s supposed to be.”
Penny, the dog that was shot Friday, was taken to a veterinarian and is expected to be OK. Her owner posted on Facebook:
“We have three dogs and one was shot we never leave them out long and they hardly bark if they do they come right back in. I never want to be that person that lets my dog bark. This truly hurts my heart cause I love this neighborhood.”
Anyone who has any information about this shooting or the previous incidents in Eagle Mountain is asked to call the Utah County Sheriff’s Office through Central Dispatch at 801-794-3970.
