Autistic girl’s stolen dog found dead
Toby, an autistic girl’s dog that was reported stolen last week, was found dead Sunday night.
The body of the dog – trained to help Kelly Noland’s daughter, Alle, 9, stay safe — was dumped in the family’s yard in Moncks Corner, S.C.
“They killed our dog and dropped it off in our yard,” Kelly Noland told the Charleston Post and Courier. “He had been hit in the face with a bat. He was still warm.”
Toby, a 3-year-old black and white American bull terrier, was taken from the family’s front yard last Tuesday.
Neighborhood children waiting for the morning school bus said they saw a blond woman in a black Dodge stop, snatch the dog and drive off, according to a Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office report.
“It’s just been a nightmare. Devastating, heartbreaking,” Noland said. “We want to know why someone would target our animal and target our family and be so heartless.”
The family got Toby as a puppy. He wasn’t professionally trained to be a service dog for Alle — the family says it can’t afford one of those — but he watched after her and made sure she stayed safe, the family said.
Noland thanked those who helped look for the dog, and those who have helped since his death, including a local crematory that offered its services for free.
Noland said the family has no plans to get another dog in the near future. “It’s just too much heartache,” she said.
(Top photo: Kelly Noland holds Toby’s collar as she sits with daughter, Alle; by Grace Beahm / Charleston Post and Courier)
Posted by jwoestendiek December 20th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: alle, allie, american bull terrier, animals, autism, autistic, beaten, body, child, corpse, cruelty, dead, dog, dogs, kelly noland, missing, moncks corner, noland, pets, returned, south carolina, special needs, stolen, toby, yard
Comments
Comment from Diego – DoggyStore
Time December 21, 2011 at 11:39 am
It is much evil to do such a thing, evil has no end, dissatisfied with the death of the dog, still want the pain of the relatives to see the dead dog, freshly killed. The more you know the man, the more one appreciates the animals.
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É muita maldade fazer uma coisa dessas, a maldade não tem fim, descontentes com a morte do cachorro, ainda querem a dor dos familiares em ver o cachorro morto, recém morto. Quanto mais se conhece o homem, mais se aprecia os animais.
Comment from Bobby Field
Time December 23, 2011 at 12:26 pm
My heart goes out to this girl and her family. Why would someone do that?
Comment from Barbara Myers
Time June 25, 2012 at 10:54 pm
I am the parent of an autistic child and know how they struggle with changes. This must be so hard for everyone. I believe in justice if not in this life, in the next.
Comment from vida
Time December 20, 2011 at 7:42 pm
This is heartbreaking, it sounds like not just a sick and heartless thing to do but sadistic to not only kill a pet but then hurt the family further by dumping the body in their yard. I hope they catch these people and please, this once, let them see the inside of a cell for more than a week end.