FREMONT, Ohio — Editor's note: The following story has been updated to include new information from the Humane Society of the United States.
Officials with the Humane Society of the United States are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to whomever was responsible for the death of a dog on a Fremont bike trail.
In a press release issued Tuesday, a spokesperson with the organization said identifying a suspect in an animal cruelty case is crucial because it is a step in protecting the community. According to the Humane Society, the connection between animal cruelty and other crimes, including battery and sexual assault, is well-documented.
If you have information regarding this incident, you are asked to contact Sandusky County Humane Agents at 419-334-2372.
The original story is below:
Fremont police officers found a dead dog laying belly up at the bottom of a hill by the Sandusky River Sunday after people on a trail near Roger Young Memorial Park reported a puddle of blood at the mouth of one of the tunnels.
Officers responding to the report followed the blood stains to a rocky cliffside overlooking the river, eventually finding the dog. which has an unknown name, no collar and no microchips. Limited information is known about the dog, Sandusky County Dog Warden Kelly Pocock said. She was a two-year-old female pitbull mix and her preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma to the head.
Pocock said it was a remarkably violent scene that stands out during her more than 20 years in the occupation.
"This is probably the second time I've seen violence to this extent,” Pocock said.
"We don't know what caused that blunt force trauma, so we will be sending the dog's body out for a necropsy to determine cause of death and potential instruments used."
Returning to the scene Monday morning, dog warden agents said the facts of the case are concerning.
The dog was beaten to death on the trail during the daylight, between 10-11 a.m., only half a mile from a heavily populated park.
Pocock said this leads the investigation to two possibilities.
"So it could have been they were walking through here and the dog attacked them and they had no choice but to defend themselves with a rock, and it was self defense,” she said.
Or, it was something much more sinister and could be indicative of a dangerous person in the Fremont community.
"If it is just an act of cruelty, and animals are just the first step, then it escalates," Pocock said. "With this violent behavior, it escalates to kids and then adults. So if we can stop it at animals, then we can get a potential killer off the streets."
Pocock said animal murder cases often remain unsolved without a lead. She asks that if anyone has a lead, to reach out to the Sandusky County Dog Warden online or by calling 419-334-2372 or the Fremont Police Department online or by calling 419-332-6464.