Animals lovers and the City of Sacramento are coming together to find the so-called "Pocket Puppy Killer" who murdered a four-month old puppy back in January.
Officer Jace Huggins, Chief Animal Control Officer with the City of Sacramento, says they found the puppy hanging from a tree near the jogging trail along the levee on Riverside Boulevard.
"She did, after we did an examination, have three skull fractures, two fractured hips, two fractured knees and two fractures long leg bones," Huggins said. "All of that has been proven to have happened prior to her death."
He told the concerned group of Pocket residents that gathered at Giovanni's Pizzeria on Friday that while this is horrific, the bigger issue is that someone who has the capacity to do this could do it again, or maybe something even worse.
"Statistically, we know and have proven across the U.S. that people who can perpetrate crime like this against an animal are more than capable to already have or soon perpetrate that same crime against a person," Huggins stated.
They don't have a lot of evidence to go on, but a growing community effort is breathing new life into the investigation. At the press conference Friday, a woman from the area even volunteered to go around to all the local pet stores to see if they remember selling the unique Grateful Dead leash used to hang the puppy. The dozen people who gathered to hear an update on the investigation agreed that someone has to know something, and they're hoping that person will come forward.
"There were prior injuries," said Julie Verga, a concerned member of the community."That means that someone had to have heard that dog screaming. Someone had to know that this was an ongoing thing. Someone must have known."
A $16,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and Huggins is hoping the picture of the unique leash will jog people's memory of seeing the puppy. Huggins says the penalty for a crime like this could mean three to five years behind bars.