PERU — Officials are still tracking leads in the case of a young dog that was shot in the head last week and dumped over an embankment beside Route 108.

Animal Control Officer Sue Milligan said the body was discovered by a group of people Monday, March 21, who waved down Mexico police Lt. Dan Carrier as he was on his way home from work.

Milligan said she suspected that the dog had been dead for about 24 hours before it was found.

“I don’t think it was much longer than that,” Milligan said. “There wasn’t any massive decomposition, and I think the wildlife would have gotten to it if it was there any longer. I’m confident that the dog was placed there sometime Sunday afternoon or evening on March 20.”

The dog, described as an American bulldog mix, weighed about 55 pounds, was about 2 years old and was primarily black with white toes and feet and with distinctive markings around his head and neck.

Since Milligan announced the death of the dog on March 30 and sought the public’s help via a flier with a description of the dog and where he was found, she has investigated several leads.

“There are some leads I was able to rule out right away, since it didn’t match up with the time frame we’ve established,” Milligan said. “I have a couple of leads to follow up on right now, but I’ve been having a hard time finding some of the people.”

She said she’s attending a Maine Animal Control Association conference in Bangor this weekend, but if any calls come in regarding the case, “we’ll follow up on it and deal with it.”

Milligan said Maine law regarding animal welfare states that euthanasia by a licensed veterinarian or certified person is the mandatory way to dispose of a cat or dog, “unless there’s an emergency situation where the safety of people or another animal’s life is threatened or in a situation in which the mandatory method of euthanasia … cannot be implemented expeditiously and will cause undue suffering.”

 The statute says if someone must resort to euthanizing their animal by shooting it, the “animal should be “restrained in a humane manner,” and the act should be “performed by a highly skilled and trained personnel utilizing a weapon and ammunition of suitable caliber to produce instantaneous death by a single shot.”

 “I’ve been receiving phone calls telling me how upset they are that people can just shoot their dogs,” Milligan said. “That’s not the case at all. The preferred method of euthanization is through the veterinary office. Shooting is an emergency option, and nothing more.”

Anyone with information about the dog or its owner should call Milligan at 357-6796, Oxford County Sheriff Cpl. George Cayer at 743-9554, or Maine Animal Welfare agent Angela Young at 287-3846.

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