Southern Minnesota woman finds dog shot dead in her yard
A woman in southern Minnesota found her dog shot dead in her yard last week.
Michele Swift, of rural Claremont in Dodge County, wrote on Facebook that her little dog, a Yorkshire terrier–Shih Tzu mix named Sophie, was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound in her yard.
According to the Dodge County Sheriff's Office, there are no suspects and the case has been closed.
“It’s in the country, so when somebody finds their dog in their yard shot, you have to understand that dog could have wandered anywhere,” Captain Ryer Anderson told the Rochester Post Bulletin.
"Unless we have some reason to believe there is a certain suspect involved, our investigation won’t go any further than what we’ve got."
Swift shared the story on her Facebook page, saying there's no way her dog wandered off their six acres of property.
"They [the dogs] have stayed within our yard for YEARS, never crossing the line where the underground invisible fencing is installed," Swift wrote.
"Pardon me, but even if she by chance had wandered off, which I will stand my ground & know 100% she didn't, she was shot to death. It is a disgusting, absolutely senseless criminal act only a coward could do."
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The dog was shot with a .357-caliber gun or larger, the sheriff's incident report says, via the Post Bulletin. The bullet hit the dog below the spine near its back legs.
"We have never had any disputes with any surrounding neighbors. It's incredibly unsettling," Swift told Bring Me The News.
Swift urges anyone who might be able to help find out who shot her dog to contact the Dodge County Sheriff's Office.
Earlier this year a mastiff was shot to death on its owners' property in Dodge Center, which is just eight miles east of Claremont.
