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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The Utah Humane Society announced Wednesday it is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction of any individual responsible for shooting and killing a family’s 4-year-old miniature Doberman last week.
The Masson family said their dog, named Lucky, was outside with children at their Eagle Mountain home on Ute Drive Saturday when gunshots fired. Michael Masson told KSL Monday that he saw Lucky run down a hill and lie down. Lucky was taken to a pet hospital but died from the gunshot wound.
In a prepared statement Wednesday, Utah Humane Society Advocacy and Investigations Director Rachel Heatley said there have been at least four instances in which a dog has been shot in Eagle Mountain over the past two years.
"While there is no indication that these shootings are directly related, the loose relationship between the shootings appears to be a lack of empathy for these innocent animals and the humans that love them," her statement reads, in part. "An individual without empathy should alarm the community, as a lack of empathy leads to violence."
Utah County Sheriff’s Office officials haven’t provided any updates in Lucky’s case. Heatley said the Utah Humane Society hasn’t received any tips since the reward was announced, either. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Utah County sheriff’s detective Dallin Turner at 801-851-4023.
The incident came a couple of weeks after four bulls and a horse were shot in Nephi, which is located about 40 miles southeast of Eagle Mountain. The Utah Department of Agriculture said the bulls were shot at a feedlot on May 26 and the horse was shot on June 1. The agency has also offered a reward for information in those two cases.
Leann Hunting, director of animal industry for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food said Friday she’s not aware of any updates to those cases. It’s unclear if there’s any relationship between the cases and the Eagle Mountain cases, either.
