By Joe Johnson
A dog was hanged during a burglary of a home in northern Athens-Clarke County, according to a police incident report.
The dog, named Chiko was found deceased and hanging in the kitchen of the home on Lochmoor Ridge the afternoon of Jan. 1 by a teen who was checking on the pet for the owner while she was away overnight, according to the report.
The boy took down the dog’s body and placed it in its kennel before notifying the owner, police said.
When officers arrived to meet with the distraught woman, they noticed that the house was in disarray and determined the point of entry was a sliding back door does not lock, the police report noted.
The resident named a possible suspect, who she believed killed the dog in retaliation for his arrest on domestic violence charges a month earlier, according to police.
The incident is being investigated for the offenses of burglary, aggravated animal cruelty and violation of a family violence order, police said.