SEARSPORT – Police are looking for a “sick” person who shot three dogs dead and left them on the side of the road.

Patrolman Eric Bonney, who is also one of the town’s animal control officers, said the dogs were shot on two separate occasions and left at the same spot on Nickels Road. One dog was killed in September, the other two last Thursday.

“This is pretty sickening,” Bonney said Tuesday. “You just can’t imagine someone doing this. It’s sick.”

Bonney said he and Police Chief Dick LaHaye found a 2-year-old male Great Dane and 4-month-old female Great Dane at approximately 2 p.m. Dec. 4 after being alerted by a caller. The male had been shot multiple times, the female pup once. Both were left on a piece of plastic.

The Great Danes were taken to Blake Veterinary Hospital in Northport where it was officially determined they had been shot. Bonney said he asked that the dogs be autopsied in hopes of recovering bullets or fragments that could be used as evidence.

Bonney said the case was eerily similar to one investigated by animal control officer Rory McLaughlin in September. That case involved a Rottweiler that was found shot dead and also left on a piece of plastic on Nickels Road.

“These are rare, rare cases, especially for Searsport,” Bonney said. “We feel they are related because all three dogs were left in the same spot.”

The three dogs had gotten free and were running at large when they were killed, Bonney said. Their owners lived within a mile of Nickels Road, he said. Bonney said the owner of the Great Danes had called the evening they were found to tell him they were loose. He said he was disappointed to have to tell the woman her pets had been killed.

Bonney said that if the person or persons responsible were caught they likely would be charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty and aggravated criminal mischief. He said the crimes are considered felonies because the pets were worth thousands of dollars.

“The owner is still paying for the pup; it was only 4 months old,” he said.

Bonney cautioned owners to keep their dogs registered and under their control and to notify the Police Department whenever they run off.

“People need to let us know if a dog gets out,” he said.

Bonney said the department was “following up on some leads” and was hopeful that the responsible party would be brought to justice.

wgriffin@bangordailynews.net

338-9546