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Looking for Answers After Family Dog Shot Dead

GREENFIELD TOWNSHIP — A family in Lackawanna County looked for its dog all weekend. Eventually, they found it shot to death and buried underneath some cra...
Lacka Dog 1-12

GREENFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A family in Lackawanna County looked for its dog all weekend. Eventually, they found it shot to death and buried underneath some crates.

Police are now trying to figure out who's responsible.

The Kaminsky family in Greenfield Township said it was unlike their dog Toby to run off, so after he didn't turn up after two days, they figured someone had found him and was taking care of him. But, Sunday night, the Kaminskys found the dog shot to death less than half a mile away from their home.

The family never expected that this is how the search for their missing dog, Toby, would end. A Lackawanna County humane officer visited the family's home near Carbondale to launch an investigation to figure out what happened to Toby.

The Kaminskys said the lab mix ran off Friday afternoon and was found shot to death Sunday night in a wooded area near the family's home.

"I thought for sure someone one took him, like took him in, not harmed him. I never thought anyone harmed him," said Tracey Kaminsky.

Humane Officer Sandy Scala says she's working with Greenfield Township police. They'll try to pull bullet fragments from Toby's body. The bullet could lead them to a gun, then a shooter.

After pulling him from the woods, the Kaminskys covered the dog with a sheet and laid him by his dog house. They say his body was found buried under milk crates and his collar was missing.

"There's definitely different alternatives to try and discourage a dog. Out here in the middle of nowhere, you know, to shoot a dog that's not causing any harm. It's just ridiculous anymore," Scala said.

"Utter shock, like, it's just sad," said Krissy Kaminsky.

"It's one thing to lose an animal, but to lose it like this, I never would have, you can't imagine it. It's terrible," added Tracey.

The humane officer acknowledged that it's coyote hunting season, but she said, based on what she knows about the case, she does not think the dog was mistaken for a coyote. Police expect test results from the dog later on this week.

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