Dead dogs found in bags at Cedar Lake

Police are investigating the discovery of several dead dogs in Cedar Rapids' Cedar Lake Monday.

“We don't know if they were killed, or if they were dead before they went into the water,” police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said.

Responding to a call from a passer-by, an Animal Control officer found the remains, wrapped in plastic bags, about 6:30 p.m. The carcasses of at least two puppies and at two older dogs, in four separate bags, were found along the lake's northwest shore, about 60 yards from Cedar Lake Park.

The Animal Control officer used grappling hooks to recover the remains, which were taken to the city animal shelter for examination.

Hamblin wasn't certain Monday night whether the city has the capability for the canine equivalent of an autopsy, but she said investigators will try to determine how and why the dogs' remains came to be in the lake.

“I hope it's not that they just didn't feel like having dogs anymore,” she said, “We have an animal shelter that's willing to take these dogs, so they don't have to suffer.”

Hamblin said at least one of the dogs was wearing a collar, but wasn't sure whether a tag was attached. She granted it may be impossible to determine the dogs' owner without a tag.

Advanced decomposition made it impossible to immediately determine the dogs' breed or gender, or even how many puppies were found.

Jill Busch happened on the recovery of the dogs' remains as she walked her year-old shih tzu, Ziggy, along the lake - a regular routine when the weather's nice.

“It's sad,” said Busch, 22, of Cedar Rapids. “I hope that it's just a one-time thing.”