How & Why is this happening in my neighborhood??!!!

Police Seek Kanab Dog Sniper in 3 Shootings
By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/30/2008 07:32:09 AM MDT

KANAB - Jill Simpson was stunned when she went outside to get her dog and found blood gushing from Benika's mouth and a gurgling sound as her pet labored to breathe. The Kanab resident rushed the 12-year-old German shepherd to the clinic at Best Friends Animal Society five miles north of this southern Utah city. There, veterinarians were perplexed by the dog's profuse bleeding until an X-ray showed Benika had been shot in the neck with a .22-caliber bullet that also fractured her jaw. That was April 18. Three days later, J. Sharp was leaving her Kanab house when she heard a shot. Her 4-month-old yellow Labrador, Cowgirl, then limped around from behind a trailer and plopped on the ground. "I ran down to help her," Sharp recalled, "and found that a bullet had left a 4-inch groove along her back, next to her spine." Sharp took her wounded pet to Best Friends, too, and vets again found a shattered .22-caliber bullet in the dog. Benika and Cowgirl are recovering, but an area pig was not as lucky. It was shot four times with a .22-caliber weapon last week and died.

Kanab police Chief Tom Cram said Tuesday that investigators have little to go on, but hope that a $1,000 reward will help crack the case. The shooter or shooters could face felonies for harming the animals and misdemeanors for discharging a weapon within city limits. "We'll throw the book at them," Cram said. "It's not right popping animals." The shootings took place within eight blocks of one another in the Ranchos subdivision. "It's a dangerous situation in a crowded neighborhood," said Cram, who has increased patrols in the area. Simpson is at a loss trying to understand Benika's shooting. "I just let her out in the yard so she could go to the bathroom," Simpson said. "When I went out to get her, I heard this sound like a giant bullfrog that was [Benika] trying to breathe. She had blood all over her face. I didn't hear a shot so it never dawned on me that she had been shot." Benika now is eating soft food and can sleep and breathe easier as her swollen throat heals. As for Cowgirl, Sharp said the vets decided to leave the shell fragments in and the wound open so the infection could drain. "She is a good dog who never leaves the yard," Sharp said. "It was a traumatic day."

Best Friends spokesman John Polis said the society kicked in $750 toward the reward along with $250 from the city. "We encourage someone to come forward," he said. Studies have shown those who hurt animals are more likely to abuse family members. "Suffice it to say," Polis said, "that there is a great correlation that people who hurt animals are going out and doing violent acts on others." mhavnes@sltrib.com