Dog fatally shot in Belle Plaine Township, suspect sought

BELLE PLAINE TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities are asking for help after a dog was found with multiple gunshot wounds in Belle Plaine Township, Minnesota. The dog later died of its injuries.

According to the Scott County Sheriff's Office, around 10 a.m. Monday, dispatch was notified of a dog found in a ditch near the 27000 block of Church Avenue. Upon arrival, a deputy found a male dog suffering from multiple apparent gunshot wounds. He was identified as "Kirby," a white German Shepherd.

Kirby's owner, Mike Fontaine, said he woke up Monday morning to an alarming call from his neighbor.

“I went out to the road—just looking down the road and I didn’t see anything. When I got the phone call that he was laying in the ditch, I got in my car,” he said.

Fontaine and his girlfriend, Pam, then discovered a bullet in Kirby's side. They say he normally runs out in the back fields and hardly ever goes across the street; they do not know if he was enticed by someone or why he would have been shot.

Despite their efforts all night to nurse him back to health, Kirby died Tuesday morning.

“It feels like somebody stole part of my heart for whatever reason. There’s no reason for it whatsoever, to shoot a poor dog that wasn’t a threat, wasn’t hurting anything...he wasn’t hurting anybody,” Fontaine said. “Kirby was the one kid who was always friendly, always smiling, always wanting to please and he happened to be my best friend.”

The neighbor reported seeing a vehicle enter the property, then heard gunshots and saw the vehicle leave, according to the sheriff's office. He described the vehicle as a late 2000s gray pickup truck with a slightly lifted body, “knobby” tires, and red circles around hub caps.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (952)-445-1411 or by submitting an anonymous tip via Crime Stoppers of Minnesota by calling 1-800-222-TIPS [8477].