MACON, Ga. — A pit bull is dead, a Jones County family is grieving, and the circumstances about what led up to his death are unclear.
Shannon Willis Gordon took to Facebook this week to grieve her family’s 1-year-old pit bull, Chubb. She says they found him on the side of the road with a single gunshot to the head.
Gordon says he may have been killed somewhere else and dumped near Princess Ann and Gray Highway where the family would find him. Elizabeth Worthy is a family friend.
"It breaks my heart. The young man whose dog that is, is like a second child to me. His family and my family have known each other for years and when a grown boy -- he's 18 -- calls you in tears because he just found his best friend on the side of the road? That breaks your heart no matter what kind of dog it is,” said Worthy.
Capt. Travis Douglas with Jones County says if you see any dog that’s loose, then you should call animal control.
“You can't just shoot a dog for no reason. Just like you can't just shoot a person who walks in your yard for no reason. Jones County has a leash law that's enforced by the deputies and the animal control officers and that simply requires the owner of animals have their dogs leashed or inside a fence or an invisible fence,” said Douglas.
He says you can be charged with animal cruelty if you don’t have a good reason to shoot.
“You do have the right to defend yourself or another loved one if an aggressive animal does come into your yard,” he said.
Worthy, an advocate for animals with pit bulls of her own, says whoever did it is evil.
“No reason whatsoever. It's all hate. Whoever did this is an evil, sadistic person and there was no reason in the world to hurt this dog,” she said.
The sheriff’s office is still looking for the shooter.