A Labrador Retriever from Rogers County, Okla., was killed Saturday when she was taken from her yard and brutally dragged behind a vehicle.
The dog, Jetta, was only 2 years old at the time of her death.
Jetta was a new mother, having recently given birth to nine puppies. Her owners, the Patton family, are now grieving the loss of their beloved dog and caring for the puppies she left behind. The family has been bottle-feeding the 4-week-old pups since their mother’s death.
When Jetta did not come in from outside Saturday, Melony Patton became concerned. She and her family searched desperately for Jetta, but would ultimately make a gruesome discovery. A trail of blood and fur led Patton’s husband and brother to Jetta’s body.
“My husband and my brother went down there to make sure it was her,” Patton told News 9, “and it was.”
Jetta’s body was discovered on the side of the road near Winganon, her back legs bound with steel baling wire. It was evident from the extent of the injuries that Jetta sustained that she was dragged by her hind legs for at least a mile.
Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton is determined to apprehend the person or persons responsible for torturing and killing poor Jetta.
“Somebody knows that somebody did this,” Walton said in a statement Sunday. “We’ve got a twisted mind out there that for whatever reason thought this was the thing to do to this animal. What else would this person be capable of?”
A reward fund has been started in Jetta’s name in hopes that someone will come forward with information leading to the arrest of Jetta’s killer. Between the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, nearby animal rescues like Wild Heart Ranch, and in-kind donations from people around the world who have heard Jetta’s story and want her killer brought to justice, the reward fund has swelled from $4,500 to $10,000.
One of the fund’s biggest donors is former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, who has offered to match any donations made to the reward fund. Horrified by this gruesome crime, the coach took to his Twitter account.
“@MelonyPatton We are heartbroken for your loss of Jetta,” Switzer tweeted after offering to help with the reward fund. “This will help find those responsible for such a senseless, horrific crime.”
Sheriff Walton urges anyone with information to come forward and notify the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office at 918-341-3620.
“There is nothing really to justify killing a dog,” Walton said. “I think there is a special place in hell for anyone who abuses an animal like that.”
Sources: TulsaWorld.com, KTUL.com, News9.com
