Sheriff: Close to arrest in Bollinger County dog abuse case

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Authorities are close to making an arrest in connection with the pit bull that was dragged and burned last week in Bollinger County.

Sheriff Leo McElrath said his department received a promising lead and had hoped to make an arrest Thursday afternoon but chose to do more investigating before doing so.

"We don't want to jump the gun with this arrest," McElrath said.

McElrath said his department has been canvassing the county for information about the pit bull. A driver on County Road 318 near Marble Hill spotted the dog's charred body and notified authorities Friday night.

When deputies went to investigate Saturday morning, they found the dog tied to a fence. The animal's entire left side had been burned, and mud and gravel was embedded in the right side, according to the incident report. The dog's right hind leg was also broken, and evidence of dragging was found on the road.

Deputies buried the dog shortly after its discovery, but the dog was later exhumed and sent to a laboratory in Florida for an autopsy. The autopsy will determine the dog's sex, breed, color, age and cause of death. The Humane Society is funding the autopsy, McElrath said, noting that he is unsure when the results will come back.

Bollinger County Stray and Rescue Group director Marilyn Neville said it is important for the sheriff's department to close this case as soon as possible. The incident may have been a cruel prank, she added.

"The dog could have been shot, then dragged," Neville said. "It could have been a retaliation for a dog attacking livestock. It's a sick way to get a point across."

Neville said she had never seen an animal abuse case this extreme. Most cases she has dealt with have been neglect or severe starvation in stray dogs. Forty percent of reported animal abuse cases in Missouri are neglect or abandonment, according to numbers compiled by the Animal Abuse Registry Database Administration System. Less than 2 percent are burning cases.

Much of the neglect stems from the poor economy because owners do not have enough money to pay for food for their pets, Neville said.

The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department receives six or seven calls about animal cruelty every month, McElrath said.

"Normally it's about dogs not being fed or cows not having hay," he said Tuesday.

Neville said she has been contacted by several outraged residents regarding the pit bull case and lauded the department for its swift action in finding a lead and zeroing in on an arrest.

"I'm overjoyed by the success of the department in this case," she said. "They've done a lot for the community in animal abuse cases."

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Marble Hill, MO