JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Public outrage and concern continued to mount as investigators pressed their search for the person or people who tied a dog to a tree and shot it to death.
The dog’s body was discovered Friday near a small lake off Gila Lane in the Lakewood neighborhood. That’s located between Hendricks Avenue and St. Augustine Road, not far from Emerson Street.
A small memorial with a red plastic dog toy in the form of a dog bone and some flowers sat at the base of the tree where the dog’s body was discovered.
Jacksonville animal control officers named the deceased pitbull terrier “Valor.”
Animal control Chief Michal Bricker said the dog was not microchipped and did not appear to have come from a local shelter.
“This was a young, we think a one-year-old dog with a brand-new blue harness,” Bricker said.
Investigators believed sometime last Thursday night, someone brought the dog to the location on Gila Lane, tethered it to a tree, and shot it three times before leaving the scene.
“Who in their right mind would do that to animal?” said Stephen Reynolds, who lives in San Marco but often visits the neighborhood where Valor’s body was located.
Reynolds, a dog owner, expressed outrage and concern after learning about what happened to Valor. He feared the person who killed Valor in such fashion may not stop at harming an animal.
“If they’re doing that to dogs, there’s kids around here. Who are we dealing with here? If someone saw something, come forward. Let’s get this guy, or this person, or these people,” said Reynolds.
One nearby neighbor told News4JAX she was disturbed by the discovery and said she never heard the gunshots.
Bricker said the tips his office received about Valor were forwarded to the police. He told News4JAX the tips didn’t mention gunshots being heard, but that a dog that looks like Valor was seen earlier in the day, last Thursday, in the same area.
If anyone has information that could help police track down a suspect, you are urged to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or Jacksonville Animal Care and Protection Services at 904-630-2489