A trail of blood led police to two suspects who allegedly beat a family dog and dragged the animal behind a vehicle in
Didsbury.
 
The dog's injuries were so severe, a veterinarian called to the scene had to euthanize the animal on the spot.
 
"This was definitely, in my 10 years of policing, the most horrendous act I've seen against an animal," said Cpl. Kevin
Fischer of the RCMP in Didsbury, 90 kilometers north of Calgary.
 
A couple found the female collie-Lab cross lying in the street near Ross Ford Elementary School in the northwest corner of town early Sunday. Their frantic phone call woke Dr. Andy Mencarelli, a veterinarian at the Krebs clinic in Didsbury, who went to the scene. The dog's legs were bound together with duct tape and there was a tow rope around its neck.
 
Its head was wrapped in a bag.
 
"There was blood everywhere," said Mencarelli.
 
The dog was able to lift its head, but in too much shock to make any sound, he said.
 
When Mencarelli lifted the dog to the back of his truck to euthanize it, the true extent of the animal's injuries became
apparent.
 
"This dog was just broken," he said, adding its neck, pelvis, back and skull were fractured.
 
Investigators believe the six- or seven-year-old dog endured a beating prior to being tied up and hitched to a vehicle.
 
"Indications are the dog was dragged behind a vehicle," Fischer said.
 
The dog had no tags, tattoos or obvious identification, but police officers followed a trail of blood to a local home.
 
Police have laid charges against two teenagers, but Fischer said Wednesday they are no closer to learning a motive for the crime.
 
"There is nothing, at this point," he said.
 
Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, of Didsbury has been charged under the Criminal Code with injuring/endangering an animal and
causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. He is also charged with obstructing police.
 
A 17-year-old male, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with injuring/endangering an animal and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
 
For adult offenders, each of the animal cruelty charges has a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine or six months in jail -- or both.
 
The case is also being investigated by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
 
A conviction under the province's Animal Protection Act can carry a maximum penalty of a $20,000 fine and a lifetime ban from owning animals, but an official said no further charges are being contemplated.
 
“We have been notified of it and are having some follow up involvement," said Morris Airey, the Alberta SPCA's director of enforcement.
 
The two suspects are scheduled to appear in Didsbury provincial court on Nov. 6