SEMINOLE HEIGHTS, Fla. — Investigators with the Hillsborough County’s Pet Resource Center have exhumed a dog’s body in Seminole Heights to see if there is evidence of abuse because it was found dead with a pipe around its head.
WARNING: This story contains details that are graphic in nature.
Don, the three-year-old Brindle Boxer went missing October 14 from its Seminole Heights neighborhood around Hillsborough Avenue and 22nd Street North.
Nearly 48 hours later, Don’s dead body was found in a nearby garbage trash can by a neighbor.
The dog’s owner told ABC Action News that the dog’s head was shoved into a metal-like air duct pipe.
The owner of the dog claims when authorities responded they said they did not see foul play, so animal services did not respond.
Graphic images showed that the dog's deceased body was found inside a large trash bin with the metal pipe crushing his skull. There also appeared to be several other open wounds with dried blood on and around the dog. ABC Action News is choosing not to show the disturbing images.
After the owner posted the images on Facebook, the county sent investigators out to exhume the body from the family’s backyard, where he had been buried.
Animal investigators will do X-rays to see if there is any evidence if he was shot, and they will attempt a necropsy.
A necropsy may be difficult now that Don has been dead for several days.
