Pet Dog's Decapitated Body Found Dumped In Grisly Attack, Incident Labeled 'Cold Case'

Authorities investigating the death of a 4-month-old puppy, which was found without its head and paw in Cullman County, Alabama, have labeled it a "cold case."

The puppy's owner, Crystal Eubanks, found the body last week after the canine went missing. Eubanks had left her home in the Spring Hill community last Thursday morning, and returned to find her puppy, named Beretta, was not in the pen with three of her German Shepherds.

Eubanks told The Cullman Times she immediately knew that something was wrong. Beretta, a Belgian Malinois, was a Mother’s Day gift to her.

Eubanks then went to look for her and saw the puppy was dumped near her house, CBS42 reported.

“It was dark, so I couldn’t see her clearly, but I saw bones sticking out,” Eubanks said, adding she could see the dog wasn’t breathing.

She then called a friend to come over. Eubanks initially thought that her pet was likely attacked by the other dogs, but there were no marks or blood on them. The puppy was decapitated and the canine's body parts were cut off clean. The head and leg have not been found, she said.

Eubanks filed a police report on Friday and, on Monday, animal control arrived at her home to investigate the incident.

However, as there was little evidence, the authorities told Eubanks on Tuesday there wasn't much they could do. Animal control has labeled this a "cold case."

“I don’t know if people are trying to scare us, to make us sell our house and move so they can purchase the land,” she said, adding she buried the remains of her dog over the weekend, CBS24 reported.

“This wasn’t just a dog. This is the potential to be a child or a single woman,” Eubanks told local media Tuesday.

Eubanks said she can’t think of anyone who would have targeted her or her family. To protect the rest of her dogs, she has installed security cameras near her house.

In March, the mutilated body of a dog was found inside a plastic bag that was dumped on the side of a country road in Colorado. A local resident spotted a bag on the roadside and when she opened it, she found the decapitated body of a dog. The canine was identified as a German Shepherd. The head of the dog was not found inside the bag, authorities said at the time. The police have launched an investigation into the incident.