Vet: Family dog in Crawford County likely fatally stabbed

A Crawford County woman is hoping for justice after her family's 9-year-old dog recently succumbed to several clean-cut wounds inflicted by a sharp object, possibly a knife.

Courtney Thomas, 23, let her mixed-breed lab, Honey, go outside alone about 8:30 a.m. Monday morning. Honey trotted off with the neighbor's dog up Sandy Point Road in Lizella and wasn't seen again until two hours later, when Thomas discovered the dog bleeding on the front porch.

"At first I thought it was a gunshot wound," Thomas said. "We're not exactly sure (what happened), but we do know it was my dog and my neighbors dog, they were both stabbed."

Thomas called the Crawford County Sheriff's Office that afternoon to report the incident. A deputy told her to take Honey to a veterinarian and to take pictures of her wounds, according to the incident report from the sheriff's office.

Honey was examined by Ben Smith at Smith Animal Hospital in Fort Valley before she died.

"She had wounds that had to be done by some sort of sharp object," Smith said. "They weren't dog fight wounds because the muscle bellies were cut very cleanly, especially in the shoulder area. ... I can't say I'm 100 percent sure, but I can say they were pretty clean cuts like a knife would do."

In cases when animal cruelty is suspected, law enforcement typically wants a statement from the veterinarian, Smith said. However, Smith said Wednesday he hadn't spoken with authorities.

Thomas said her neighbor's dog also was attacked, but it survived its injuries and was treated elsewhere. She thinks a person is responsible for Honey's death.

"Everyone around us loves her. No one ever had a complaint about her. No one ever said anything negative about her," Thomas said of Honey. "They need to pay for what they did."

The sheriff's office incident report indicates the case remains an active investigation.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Vet: Family dog in Crawford County likely fatally stabbed ."