UTICA, Indiana — It was around 7p.m. on Sunday when police say someone shot 11-month-old Rottweiler Frieda in her backyard.
"We all just hear her yelping and I run outside and there is blood all over her neck," said Nathaniel Badgett, Frieda's owner.
Badgett contacted Utica Police as he drove Frieda to Jefferson Animal Hospital. That's where he found out the kind of bullet she was shot with.
"They came back and said it was a hollow point 22 and that they think she was shot just because she's a Rottweiler," he said.
X-rays show the bullet in her neck.
The vet was not able to remove the bullet since it sits so close to her spine.
"If she didn't have that bullet in her back you wouldn't even thought she'd been shot," Badgett said.
Nearly two days later, the Utica Police Department received another report of a different dog poisoned with anti-freeze in the same yard.
Wednesday night, officers brought the community together to discuss the cases, advising them to keep their pets inside as much as possible.
"We've had one confirmed poison and one unconfirmed poison, so we're still trying to work on the other two it's just a lot of here say; that's why we called the meeting to weed out, we've heard so much," Corporal officer Hunter Morrow said.
Police said they have two persons of interest possibly responsible for these two incidents, a man and a minor who has a criminal background of shooting animals with rifles.
"One on security camera footage that was in and around the time of the shooting, he came before the shooting and disappeared, and came back after the shooting had occurred," said Morrow.
Marcie Nifong lives near the house where the dog was shot and the other poisoned.
"It just sickens me to know that an individual can do this to animals," she said.
Nifong owns three dogs and cats, and fears for both them and her mother.
"I just want whoever is doing this to get caught," Nifong said.
The Utica Police Department told residents to look for continued updates on their Facebook page.
They're also urging pet owners to bring water bowls inside, and to not leave them outside.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.