PEA RIDGE — Falling to his knees crying, a 9-year-old boy asked his parents why his beloved pet was dead.
They didn’t have an answer.
Lady, a 11-year-old Australian shepherd, was found dead, her body lying in the dust in front of the Michael and Susan Coble home on Patton Road. A second family pet was sitting beside the mutilated body early Sunday morning.
Other residents along the dirt roads northeast of town discovered their property had been violated in the quiet pre-dawn hours.
The dog and four cows were believed to be victims of a crime spree in which about 20 mailboxes were knocked off their posts and or smashed. The dog was apparently run over and the cattle were shot.
Two cows died.
“Lady was just a great dog ... she had a great personality. She was protective of us. She ran people and dogs out of our yard and that of our neighbor’s. It was horrible,” Susan Coble said. “My son has had Lady since he was born. He’s never lost a pet.”
Coble said her neighbor’s mailbox was damaged and she believes Lady ran to the road when she heard the noise of the vehicle and the mailbox being hit. She said her neighbor’s daughter found the dog early Sunday morning and told the family.
Michael Coble buried Lady without letting Susan or their three children see her body because the sight was so gruesome, Susan said.
Carl Johnson, owner of three of the cows, took two to the veterinarian. The bullets were not able to be removed. His cow that died was bred.
Johnson said he did not check the cows until mid-day Sunday then saw the dead cow. He said that cow was worth about $1,200 and was still nursing a calf. He said her calf last year brought $700. After finding the dead cow, Johnson checked his other cattle and found two that had been shot - one right between the eyes and in the neck and a second in the neck. He took them both to the vet wherethey were X-rayed and treated.
“They couldn’t get the bullet out,” Johnson said. “One was stumbling.”
Benton County Sheriff’s Office received numerous calls reporting damaged mailboxes. A 1988 International 1900 series chicken litter spreader parked by chicken houses on a farm off Jones Trailer Park Road was damaged with the driver’s side window and the front windshield broken.
It is believed the incident occurred about 3 a.m. Sunday.
A deputy said there were about 20 mailboxes along Patton Road, Roland David Road, Twelve Corners Road and Jones Trailer Park Road that had been damaged. There are “persons of interest” being sought for questioning, according to Deputy Doug Gay, public information officer, who said evidence had been recovered and is being sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock.
News, Pages 1 on 07/21/2010