The death of two dogs in Grand Junction has enraged the community, and the Mesa County Sheriff's Department is searching for the individual(s) responsible.

On Wednesday, April 19, the bodies of two dogs were found on the railroad tracks in Orchard Mesa. The dogs had been decapitated but there was no evidence indicating they had been tied to the tracks.

Public response on the Mesa County Sheriff's Department Facebook page has been filled with outrage and disgust.

"Tie these scumbags to the tracks!... By the feet first!"
"Disgusting and so heartbreaking."
"...they deserve much worse than what they inflicted on those helpless babies."
"Whoever did this deserves the death penalty! We need to toughen up our animal abuse laws. This is clearly murder."

Authorities are interested in the dog's whereabouts from the time they ran away on the weekend of April 15 and the time their bodies were found. Anyone with any clues is asked to please contact the Mesa County Sheriff's Office at (970) 242-6707 or call Crime Stoppers of Mesa County at 241-7867.

I can't even begin to describe my feelings of sadness for these poor dogs, and my anger toward whoever is responsible. Animal abuse should not be tolerated at any level, and the penalties for such crimes need to provide a serious deterrent to animal abusers.

I also have great compassion for the family that owned these dogs. Losing a pet under any circumstances is heartbreaking, but to have your four-legged family members so brutally killed must be heart-wrenching.

According to U.S. Legal, in the state of Colorado cruelty to animals is a Class 1 misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $500 and a minimum sentence of six months in prison, up to a maximum fine of $5000 and a maximum prison sentence of 18 months.

I would be curious to know how many people, aside from former NFL player Michael Vick, have actually served prison time for animal cruelty and abuse. You don't hear about it often, so it seems that it is a rare occurrence.

Sometimes animal abuse comes at the hands of complete strangers while at other times, sadly, it happens at the hands of the poor animal's owner.

Let's see if we can find the people responsible for these dog deaths, and then maybe we need to talk to our Colorado congressmen about stiffening our state's animal abuse laws.

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