Pet dogs stolen and slaughtered

A FAMILY is heartbroken after their two pet dogs were stolen, slaughtered and dumped in a cane paddock in Moore Park Beach.

Darren and Sharon Grono, pictured with pet shih tzu Oscar, had their two Dogue De Bordeauxs taken from their property on April 5, only to find them dead this week. Picture: Darryn Smith

A FAMILY is heartbroken after their two pet dogs were stolen, slaughtered and dumped in a cane paddock in Moore Park Beach.

Sharon Grono first reported the “sweet and loving” Dogue De Bordeaux breed animals missing on April 5, sending letters to more than 60 businesses who deal with animals and alerting the police, RSPCA and council to be on the lookout.

The dogs, Bear and Georgia, weighing in at 85kg and 60kg and worth $3000 each, were found on Monday.

They were so badly mutilated they could not be taken home to bury.

“We have cried ourselves to sleep every night,” Mrs Grono said.

“They were part of the family. The way they were found, they would have just suffered so much.”

Mrs Grono, her husband and two teenage children moved from the Gold Coast to the region one year ago and plan to sell their home and move away after the incident.

“What makes me nervous is if people could kill a dog that size, they could do it to a person,” she said.

Mrs Grono said the family had been terrified since the animals were taken.

“We live on a five-acre property and there was no way they could have gotten out,” she said.

“They were definitely stolen. I don’t think we will ever move on.

“They came with us everywhere.

“They loved to go camping and play at the beach and in the bush. They never wandered or barked, they were such sweet animals.”

Mrs Grono said while she had never wished bad things on others, she hoped karma would find the killers.

“There are some very heartless and selfish people out there,” she said.

RSPCA manager Vicki Beer said she was devastated by the cruelty.

“I am heartbroken for that family,” she said.

“It makes me sick that someone could do that. They could have just let the dogs go and someone would have found them.”

Mrs Beer said this was not the first story of unbelievable animal cruelty she had heard of in the region.

“It seems to go through stages with dogs going missing,” she said.

“Most of the ones stolen are for breeding or fighting. The puppies of these big dogs could be very dangerous if they were crossed with a pit bull.”

Bundaberg police sergeant Grant Marcus said the case would be thoroughly investigated.

“Animal cruelty is taken very seriously here,” he said.

“Particularly in cases like this where the animals have been injured to the point of being killed. There are severe penalties for people that do this.”

Sgt Marcus said police were calling on anyone with information regarding the slayings to come forward.

“If anyone knows anything about this they should contact us or Crime Stoppers,” he said.

Originally published as Pet dogs stolen and slaughtered