A Connecticut family is devastated after their beloved German Shepherds are killed by a hunter who had mistaken them for coyotes.
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Erin Caviola stated that her dogs went missing in November after she allowed them to leave her Ridgefield home to use the restroom. Cimo and Lieben, on the other hand, fled the yard after a section of the fence enclosure was torn down. Caviola and her family spent several weeks looking for the 10-year-old dogs, but after a month, a resident sent her a picture of her dogs. According to FOX 5, they appeared to be decapitated and skinned.
“The pictures that we got was them posed on the ground, laying there, and you could clearly see that they both had been shot in the chest,” she explained to the outlet. Mike Konschak was arrested for killing the dogs after the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection took over the case.
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Carviola wants answers and justice for her dogs, as the nature of their deaths is disturbing. She also launched a change.org petition to have Konschak’s hunting license revoked and charge him with animal cruelty. He was charged with forgery, evidence tampering, and violations of hunting regulations.
“Their murder, skinning, and beheading has taken a very large emotional toll on our family. The violence of Cimo and Lieben’s death and mutilation has caused unimaginable trauma, suffering, and exhaustion and has left a black cloud over our usually happy and loving family. Since November 18th, when our dogs went missing, every ounce of our free time has gone into finding them. Our family spent every waking second trying to find them while trying to work. Whether that be by posting things on social media, scrolling through missing pet pages, or answering every phone call and text that came to my phone, we would drop everything the second we received a possible sighting and rush to the scene, only to be disappointed. We would drive home frustrated, crying, feeling like we let down our innocent dogs who loved us unconditionally. After a month of living this way, the pain of finding out they were brutally murdered just hours after they went missing was immense. All that time our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers had spent searching for them, and they had been dead the whole time. All the while, Mike Konschak, the person responsible, kept it a secret.”
Caviola also held a memorial for the beloved dogs as they were able to gather some remains and bury them in their backyard. In a recent update, Konschak will face the charges in an upcoming court appearance. “Thank you so much everyone!!! We did it!! He will answer to the charges. The next court date is April 12th, 2023 at Danbury Superior Court,” she shared on the petition website.
Social media users were also outraged by the dogs’ killing as it is easy to distinguish between a dog and a coyote.
If he just shot them I’d maybe believe but skinned them! There’s no way in hell you can mistake a German shepherd for a coyote when close enough to cut off their heads and skin the bodies. Glad the judge didn’t buy it either
— Negative Utilitarian (@landisstolen) March 2, 2023
He really should have his hunting license revoked for starters if there is one in his state if he can’t tell a German Shepherd apart from a coyote 🤦🏻♂️ especially since he skinned them on top of killing them. He’s definitely lying and definitely should be found guilty. pic.twitter.com/Zl3VxOO8Zp
— Eduardo (@PatriotsRBest12) March 2, 2023