Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 20, 1994 TAG: 9404200101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER NOTE: Below
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Deputy Sheriff Gary Sprinkle of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office said the animals had been killed with a shotgun and a small-caliber gun. They were shot in the head, stomach or throat.
"Some had been shot a couple of times," Sprinkle said.
Some of the dogs were tied to the house and some were in pens when they were shot. Others had been turned loose and shot on the run near the house, which is on Virginia 642.
The dogs' owner, Bill Patterson of Roanoke, said the dogs were alive Friday morning but were dead when his brother, Joe, came to feed them Saturday afternoon.
The killings were reported to the Sheriff's Office on Sunday morning.
Sprinkle said neighbors heard shooting around the house between 3 and 4 p.m. Saturday, but he is not certain the dogs were killed then.
The dogs included some beagles, a red bone hound and possibly a blue tick hound, Sprinkle said. Some were young and others were "very old,'' he said.
Investigators do not know why the dogs were killed. Some guns had been stolen when the house was burglarized earlier in the week, Sprinkle said.
If suspects are identified, they could face charges of cruelty to animals and destruction of personal property.
by CNB