KILLINGLY – A regional animal control kennel in Killingly is searching for a missing dog that staff members believe might have been stolen during a break in.
Director of NECCOG Animal Services Dianne Collette said someone broke the lock on the kennel in the Dayville section of town sometime between 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. She got the call on Sunday morning telling her that the lock was in pieces, one dog was loose, and one dog was missing. Nine dogs were at the kennel at the time.
“What kind of person would break into a kennel? And why would they do that?” asked Collette.
One dog that had been let out, Rocky, was found roaming a nearby highway. He is now safe back at the kennel.
But Ruby, a female pit bull-Rottweiler mix, was nowhere to be found. She’s still missing, and now they believe she was stolen.
“We first thought, ‘Well maybe she's running around,’ but we've done a lot of Facebook, internet-ing and posters, and haven't had any sightings. So we're kind of assuming that she's been taken and is somewhere,” said Collette.
Collette said she’s handed out posters to all local veterinarians and animal control officers. A post on NECCOG’s Facebook page about Ruby has been shared hundreds of times.
Ruby arrived at the kennel through an “owner release” and had been there for about two months. Though Collette admits Ruby sometimes had a hard time getting along with other dogs, she believed Ruby would be adopted.
Collette said, “She was a sweet girl. She really looked forward to her treats and her walks every day.”
“These dogs, when they're in our possession, are like our own dogs. We treat them like our own dogs. They get treats. They get walks. They get bathed. They get time spent with them. And it would be just like if somebody came into our own home and stole our dog. That’s how we’re feeling,” she added.
Around three months ago, there was a similar incident at the kennel where the lock was broken and a dog was missing. Collette said almost immediately they received tips from the community leading them right to the dog. They hope someone knows what happened to Ruby, especially since she is on medication to prevent seizures.
“Everybody just wants to find her and get her back safe,” said Collette.
The kennel is looking into surveillance video equipment and a different kind of locking system to prevent this from happening again.
Anyone with information about the break in or Ruby’s whereabouts is asked to call NECOGG Animal Services at 860-774-1253.
