Connecticut women’s dogs shot, decapitated and flayed

CONNECTICUT – Erin Caviola says she still can’t part with the big metal dog bowls she has in her kitchen.

The bowls belonged to her two 10-year-old German Shepherds, Simo and Lieben. The dogs, who lived in Ridgefield, Conn., went missing in November, and Kaviola says she believes they were shot, decapitated and skinned by a Putnam County hunter.

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On that fateful morning, Kaviola noticed that when she let her dogs out to the toilet, they discovered that part of the fence surrounding her property had been torn down.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials said they believe the damage was caused by a bear, and Erin believes her dogs jumped over the fence and escaped.

Erin and her family spent weeks looking for their favorite pets, involving the whole community in this. But after nearly a month of fruitless searching, the Good Samaritan contacted Caviola and sent them a photo of what turned out to be the bodies of two dogs.

“In the pictures we got, they were posed on the ground, laying there, and it was clear that they were both shot in the chest,” Caviola told FOX 5 NY.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection took over the police case and arrested Mike Konchak. It is still unclear what the hunter was after.

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FOX 5 NY contacted the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, but the agency declined to comment.

For Caviola, all she wants is justice and the end of the case.

“When you euthanize an animal, you can comfort it,” Caviola said. “It was a little different. It is the act of them being shot, but the act of what happened to them afterward is very disturbing to us.”

Kaviola filed a Change.org petition to revoke Konchak’s hunting license and hold him accountable for animal cruelty. So far, according to Caviola, Konchak has been charged with forging documents, falsifying evidence and violating hunting regulations. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday morning for a hearing.

As for Caviola and her family, all they have is a few remains of Kimo and Liben buried in their backyard, as well as memories of the two best dogs they ever had.

“We hoped to have many more memories from them,” Caviola said.