STOLEN DOG - ILLINOIS USA - Page 16

Scarey stuff.

I was thinking the same thing as Hexe. This sickos next target could be human.

time for security system ,flood lights,and a glock under there pillow and on there side.

Please God  Help Get Them Soon! Gotta Be More Than One.....

Hang in there Al.  The dogworld supports you.  Don't let the bastard get you down.

A recent news article

http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=567163 

Hee is the article.. I copied it.....

Hex, a German shepherd who has competed in tracking competitions all over the world and won the U.S. national tracking champions, died after being struck by a vehicle, Henry County Sheriff Jim Padilla said Thursday. The dog was found dead Oct. 8 across the street from his owner's home. Sheriff Padilla said that an investigation by his department, as well as a necropsy, revealed that the dog's injuries were consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Sheriff Padilla said that the investigation into the dog's death is now over and that he does not believe any arrests will be made. Hex's owner, Al Govednik, disagrees. Mr. Govednik said that even though a man called him and said he hit Hex with his truck about a quarter-mile east of his house, he is unsure why the sheriff's department has ended the investigation. Mr. Govednik added that the man would not identify himself. He added that while the necropsy is complete, veterinarians at the University of Illinois, where the necropsy was performed, have not determined the time of Hex's death or received the results of toxicology tests. Mr. Govednik said Hex disappeared from the front yard of his home along Route 17 in Alpha on Sept. 26 and was found in a ditch across the street on Oct. 8. Mr. Govednik said that on Sept. 26, he got up around 5 a.m., let Hex out into the front yard and took out a bag of garbage. Mr. Govednik said he went back into the house for a second bag of garbage and left Hex outside and from his kitchen, he saw a white van stopped near his driveway. He said he walked back outside and saw the van speed off and Hex was nowhere to be found. Though his front yard does not have a fence, Mr. Govednik said Hex knew never to go beyond the yard. Mr. Govednik said that anyone with information about Hex's death should call investigator Tim Barton at (309) 944-7774. Anyone with information leading to an arrest could receive a $3,000 reward.

Truely sad... to me sounds a little fishy. I feel there is more to the story.

i know i would like to see the official necropsy done.  I would think it should be finished by now.  The Sherriffs office say the injuries are consistent with being hit by a vehicle, Al said they bone breaks were post mortem.  But I haven't seen anything official.  Not that I really have any right to know, but I do feel invested in this.  I love my dogs.  I've met Al a few times and Hex, and liked them both.  I"ve posted, said prayers, and spent a lot of time thinking about this, so I would like to know, tragic accident, or heinous crime?  Either way, I'll still feel terrible for Al and his familly and Hex.

Why would someone put there dog outside with no fence or not be with the dog at all times? It doesn't matter how well the dog is trained. Unfortunately the dog paid with its life.

zdog, given that donations have been made by the public toward the costs of the necropsy and the investigation efforts, I actually kinda think we *are* entitled to know the official outcome of the necropsy...but only after (a) it's been completed, both gross, toxicology and any other testing or examination that's necessary, and (b) a decision is made by the Govedniks that the investigation has been closed and all leads have been exhausted.  To release too much of the data the necropsy report may contain could jeopardize efforts to identify and prosecute the persons who commited this act of cruelty, and none of us want to see that happen.

The toxicology work takes a significant amount of time, and it hasn't even been 30 days since Hex's body was recovered.  I normally figure no less than two-three months before a toxicology report should be expected, so it's not unusual that nothing is back as of yet.  The Sheriff's office may well consider broken bones to be consistent with a vehicular assault, but really, what else can they say at the moment?  The Govedniks were advised that the gross findings indicated that the fractures occured post-mortem--and it is not difficult to determine the difference between fractures that were made while the victim is alive and those which happened after death, so until I see a report to the contrary, I'm going to consider what the Govedniks were told to be accurate...the Sheriff's office didn't pay for the necropsy, so the university is under no obligation to share their findings with them.  As for the case having been officially closed, I really don't see what the uproar was about--any reasonable taxpayer should recognize that there's only so much law enforcement can do with the information that's available, and other crimes haven't ceased just because this one took place.  I have no doubt that the local law enforcement will keep their eyes and ears open during the course of their other duties, and if they come upon anything useful they'll see that it gets to the PI (at the very least) if it's not significant enough to warrant the case being officially re-opened.  While I understand that dog lovers are outraged by this situation, we have to remember that there are people who have family members who were murdered or are missing, and law enforcement isn't able to devote their time to those cases, either, once the case hits blind alleys. 

I'd feel bad for the Govedniks if this were a tragic accident, true, but there's no way this fits into that category.  This was clearly an intentional act that was meant specifically to hurt the Govedniks personally, and thus had to involve someone who knows the family well enough to recognize that this would be one of the best ways to do so...and who knew Hex, or at very least knows Schutzhund-trained dogs, well enough to feel secure in luring or snatching the dog away from his home turf.  Time will tell, of that I'm sure; someone perverse and mean enough to do this will need to gloat about their actions in order to get what they're seeking from it, and that means the truth eventually will out.  Our species is nothing if not predictable, even the vile members.