Police investigate dog’s death after report of shots fired in Historic District

An apparent stray dog that has been roaming the Columbus Historic District for several weeks was found dead late Wednesday night along the Chattahoochee River.

Columbus police and Animal Care & Control are investigating.

Police officers recovered the carcass of the mixed-breed, medium-sized brown dog around 10 a.m. Thursday. Police had investigated the animal’s death shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday when a resident reported that he heard a gunshot after seeing the dog along the Chattahoochee RiverWalk below Sixth Street and Front Avenue.

“We responded to a report of shots fired,” Columbus Police Sgt. Art Sheldon said on Thursday. “They found the dog deceased.”

The carcass that Animal Control officers Alquan Mendenhall and Brandon Wright pulled up the riverbank did not have any visible gunshot wounds, but there was blood in the animal’s left ear.

The carcass was taken to a local veterinarian to determine the cause of death, Animal Care & Control Division Manager Drale Short said.

The dog’s death was a topic on several Facebook posts because the animal had been seen in the area for more than two weeks and there were reports of it taking items from pillows to shoes off porches. One resident posted that the dog tried to bite her earlier Wednesday.

Other residents said the dog was not a threat.

John Burke was walking his dog around 10 p.m. Wednesday when he saw the dog, which was brown and did not have a collar, along Front Avenue. Burke heard what he said sounded like a gunshot and later saw the animal, apparently dead just off the RiverWalk. Police and Animal Control were called. The dog was at the river’s edge down a steep embankment and Animal Control officers made the decision to retrieve the carcass later.

“They said it was too dangerous,” Burke said of the Animal Control officers’ decision at the time.

Nearby resident Courtney George was familiar with the dog, which would play with other dogs near her home.

“He was playful and I assumed he was a puppy,” she said. “He was scared of people, but he was not aggressive at all.”

Earlier Wednesday night, George said she had given the dog some bacon.

Animal Control officers estimated the dog was about two years old.

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Police investigate dog’s death after report of shots fired in Historic District."