ATKINSON COUNTY, GA (WALB) -
An Atkinson County farmer found his dogs shot and killed on his property on Monday and is outraged that someone would kill two harmless animals. Anthony Dixon grew up on Pearson farm a peaceful place where the cattle roam freely but that peace was disrupted on Monday.
"I was just riding by looking at the property making sure everything was okay and I found both of my dogs dead in a ditch. Both of them were shot behind the ear with what looks like a high powered rifle," said Dixon.
The images have been blurred because they are too gruesome to show. The dogs were not aggressive animals in fact one was a small beagle named Fireball and the other a half lab, half German shepherd called Sammy. Both dogs were trained to work on the Dixon family farm.
"We used them to run cows and we used them to hunt. They were trained to obey, sit and fetch," said Dixon.
"They were like family my mother took time with them now that she's retired, the dogs were all she really had," Affirmed Dixon.
Dixon says his family enjoys sharing their land with neighbors who ride four wheelers and hunt on the property. But he says whoever killed his dogs clearly were not welcomed.
"I didn't want to believe they were my dogs, I couldn't believe they were my dogs because I know all my neighbors. Everyone is pretty friendly with each other. I couldn't believe it. It shocked me," said Dixon.
The dogs' killer appears to have tied the dogs. One was found with a rubber glove over its snout. Whoever did it likely killed them between Sunday and Monday.
The owner says it's an unforgivable crime and he hopes whoever did it realizes what a void they have left in the lives of a family.
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© Anthony Dixon explains finding the dogs dead on his property
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