3 dogs dead after shelter break-in

The director of the Humane Society of the Delta said three of the shelter's dogs died after a break-in Wednesday night.

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Beth Florek said staff members found one dog dead and two others injured in an outdoor pen when they arrived at the Helena-West Helena shelter Thursday morning. The two injured dogs were euthanized after their injuries were deemed too severe, Florek said.

Florek said she and staff members believe someone broke into the pen to teach outside dogs how to fight, resulting in the injuries that led to the deaths of the dogs. She said the dogs that died were all pit bull mixes. Two other dogs of different breeds in the pen were left alone.

A Phillips County sheriff's deputy, who declined to provide his name, said someone broke into the shelter and let some of the dogs loose, but he would not confirm there was dogfighting involved.

Florek said staff members who discovered the dogs couldn't figure out how the animals had fought on their own.

"They knew that somebody else had had a hand in it," she said.

One of the dogs that died had been adopted recently.

"It would have gone to its new home on Monday," Florek said. "So that family was devastated when they heard the news."

A similar incident occurred three years ago, Florek said. Staff members saw signs of fighting and found "dead and dying dogs all over the property." After that, the shelter began to sequester the pit bulls and pit bull mixes in an indoor pen.

The shelter didn't have enough space inside this week, Florek said, so three pit bull mixes were moved to an outdoor pen at the rear of the shelter's property.

She added the shelter is in the process of buying a security system for the outdoor pens.

State Desk on 07/30/2016

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