The identity and origin of a black Labrador cross that was savagely beaten and left dead in a dumpster next to Copper Road Veterinary Clinic earlier this month has been revealed.
Tulie, the dog formerly known as Jane, was born in Carcross last year and taken from a home on Taylor Street in mid-October, according to Jordi Mikeli-Jones, president of Kona’s Coalition.
Mikeli-Jones recently tracked down Tulie’s former owner, who now lives in the N.W.T.
Until this week, no details were available about who the dog was or where it came from.
The only details known were the injuries it had sustained, which were revealed during a necropsy.
The dog had severe blunt-force trauma, a bullet through the back of her head and multiple fractures throughout her body.
All four legs, as well as her jaw, were also broken.
Tulie’s former owner last saw the dog one day in mid-October. The woman was helping a friend clean her house on Taylor Street, and Tulie was tied up outside to a cement block.
She was whining for a bit but after 20 minutes, she’d disappeared.
Posters were put up in the neighbourhood and animal shelters were contacted, to no avail.
Mikeli-Jones said the woman was “horrified and saddened” to hear the news about Tulie.
She was able to provide pictures of the dog, which are now being used on an updated poster that’s been put up around town.
Mikeli-Jones said she’s also determined the approximate time when Tulie’s body was discarded.
“I spoke with General Waste Management and they confirmed the dumpster was last picked up on March 12,” she said.
“That means the body was discarded between the 13th and the day she was discovered, Monday the 15th.”
“We live in a vast wilderness, it would have been easy to dispose of her body. I think the person may have wanted her to be found because her leg was protruding from the dumpster.”
Mikeli-Jones said she has a case file six-pages long, filled with leads and information she’s received since news broke of Tulie’s discovery two weeks ago.
But she said she’s made the most progress in the past 48 hours. “I was worried because I thought we were at a dead end,” she said.
“But finding out where she came from and who adopted her has motivated me some more. My spidey senses are tingling and I feel like we might be on the right path.”
Mikeli-Jones said she urges anyone with information to come forward.
Since starting a fundraising campaign for reward money, more than $7,500 has been raised.
“There has to be someone out there who remembers seeing a dog like that around that time,” she said.
“No amount of information is too small.”
Contact Myles Dolphin at
myles@yukon-news.com