A Torrington family is in shock after finding their mutilated dogs partially submerged in the North Platte River outside of Torrington.
Angelica Garcia told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that two rottweilers owned by her parents had gotten loose from their home Friday and hours later were found dead by a woman and her son who were walking by a popular fishing spot on the river.
Garcia said the discovery of the two dogs named Django and Hera left her stunned.
"The top of Django's head was gone and Hera's neck and chest were gone," Garcia said.
"They were family dogs. I trusted them around my kids," she added.
Investigation
Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor confirmed Monday that his office has an open investigation into the incident.
He declined to comment on whether investigators have determined a cause of death, whether any suspects or persons of interest have been identified, or what evidence investigators have gathered, citing the active nature of the case.
Garcia said her parents last saw the dogs late Friday morning after letting them outside near their Torrington home.
The two rottweilers, a brother and sister who were both nearly 6 years old, had occasionally gotten loose before and were familiar to many people in town, Garcia said.
When her father realized the dogs had not returned, he began searching for them. A short time later, the family learned the dogs had been found dead near the North Platte River.
Questions Remain
Garcia said her family believes the dogs were unlawfully killed and wants investigators to thoroughly examine what happened.
She said relatives have searched for information, spoken with people in the area where the dogs were found and tried to learn whether anyone witnessed the incident.
So far, she said, they have found no eyewitnesses.
"We're drawing a blank as to what happened," Garcia said. "Or why it happened." She added that on top of being concerned the dogs were shot, she's concerned "it happened in the city."
The family's frustration has led to an online petition that accuses authorities of not doing enough to investigate the deaths.
"Whoever did this brutally murdered these dogs, took their collars and drug them off and dumped their bodies in the river," the petition reads.
"There is a lead and law enforcement is refusing to look further and do their job," it reads.
The Torrington Police Department also responded after the dogs were found, according to Garcia.
She said city police helped direct the case to the sheriff's office because the location where the dogs were discovered fell under county jurisdiction.
Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson did not return a request for comment.
A Gruesome Discovery
Garcia began to choke up when she described the condition of the dogs and added the collars on the dogs were missing.
The family believes the dogs were killed with a shotgun.
One question repeatedly raised online is whether Wyoming law allows people to shoot dogs under certain circumstances.
State law does permit dogs to be killed if they are running livestock and the livestock has been injured or is threatened with injury. The law also shields the person who kills the dog from liability if the danger or damage can be shown.
So far, however, authorities have not publicly indicated whether livestock played any role in the deaths of Django and Hera.
The dogs were known to "get out," said Garcia, "and they would kind of roam around, but nobody ever really made a big deal about it."
"They would just call the dog catcher or local PD, and they would tend to joke about it, like they're just really nice dogs, and you know, even when they picked them up, the dog catcher was appalled at what happened, because she knew them, you know," she said.
Garcia added that she doesn't think the dogs were bothering livestock, "They would never go after cattle or anything like that."
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
