Hebron police say trap that killed dog set deliberately
By Amy Lavalley Post-Tribune correspondent December 10, 2012 2:24PM
Photo of a trap recovered by Porter County Animal Control after a homeowner's dog in Hebron died after being injured by the device Saturday Dec. 8, 2012. | Photo courtesy Porter County Sheriff's Department
Maps
Updated: January 12, 2013 6:14AM
HEBRON — Police here are looking for clues to determine who set a trap that killed a dog in a homeowner’s yard Saturday.
Police Chief Steven Sibbrell said Monday that the dog owner called police at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. When Officer Casey Robinson arrived at the home, in the 600 block of North Main Street, he found the pet owner distraught and upset.
The dog, white and medium in size, was dead with a trap around its head. The dog owner reported she tried to remove the trap from the dog’s head but couldn’t and the dog ultimately suffocated.
Sibbrell said police have been called to the home numerous times for complaints about the dog for barking and, evidently, someone took the matter into their own hands by setting the trap.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident, and the person who set the trap faces an animal cruelty charge. The Porter County Sheriff’s Department is assisting with the matter.
Sibbrell said the trap was similar to one used to trap a groundhog, and police are trying to determine whose trap it is.
“That’s going to be very difficult, trying to figure out who did it,” Sibbrell said.
The dog owner’s yard, in the center of town, was not fenced. The dog was chained to a tree next to a doghouse, though the chain had been disconnected or broken, Sibbrell said.
He could not recall a similar incident in town.
“This is deliberate,” he said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Hebron Police Department at 996-2747.
