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A dog was severely beaten by thieves who broke into a Riverton home.
"The only two things I can think of is that he went after their ankles and they tried stomping him or kicked him into a wall," the dog's owner said.
Ranger, a 13-pound cockapoo, is being treated at the Southeast Valley Veterinarian Hospital in Sandy. He may survive, but doctors do not expect the dog to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, the reward is growing to find whoever hurt the animal sometime Friday night.
Vicky Kunz says she and her family returned home early from Yellowstone after a neighbor reported the garage door was up and the dog was missing. Her husband found Ranger lying in a pool of blood.
"When we saw the dog, we rushed straight to the vet. When we got home we started looking around trying to figure out what happened to the dog. Then we realized we had been robbed," she said.
"Both the girls walked in and saw the dog that way and screamed in a frenzy. I wanted to grab them and hold onto them so I could then get the dog some help," she said.
Kunz says the dog had been there for at least 24 hours. The dog has severe head trauma. The vet says it was either kicked violently or thrown against a wall.
The Kunz family isn't thinking about how to get their stuff back, but rather if their beloved pet will ever come home.
Vicky said, "I think if we can just get him back to quality of life, we would take him home and nurse him back." Ryan added, "If we can't get him to that state, he'll have to be put down. That's the frank reality of it."
Veterinarian Dr. Ross Anderson explained, "Survivability is difficult to determine. Probably he will survive, but it's difficult to assess at what level."
Ryan and Vicky hope Ranger will return to normal and that someone will turn in whoever beat him.
"They stole a very small amount. It was a 13-pound dog that came after them. They could have left the dog with what they took, without doing anything to the animal," Ryan said.
"Someone who is willing to do this, what if they're willing to rob again and there are children? It's a scary situation," he said.
The Humane Society and Animal Advocates have come together to offer a $7,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. If you have a tip that can help, call the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
There's also been a fund set up to help the Kunz family pay for Ranger's medical bills. People wishing to donate can either send their contributions, clearly marked "Ranger Fund", to the Humane Society of Utah, PO Box 573659, Salt Lake City, UT 84157-3659, or drop them off in person at 4242 South 300 West. For more information, call the Humane Society at 261-2919.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
