Bags of dead dogs discovered in Virginia

Police find about 150 euthanized animals off remote road

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updated 5:29 p.m. ET April 8, 2005

GATE CITY, Va. - A construction worker checking a remote Virginia road found carcasses and body parts of about 150 dogs, sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

“When we got to the scene, you just could not believe the smell, and the amount of dogs down there was just unbelievable,” sheriff’s investigator Chris Holder said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like a deliberate dumping.”

The animals were found in plastic trash bags and biohazard bags and some had spilled out, he said. The dogs had been dead about two to five days, Holder said.

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The bags contained various breeds, including Rottweilers, German shepherds, Labradors and a few small-breed dogs, Holder said. The animals apparently were euthanized and some toys also were found in the bags.

The dogs were found Wednesday near a riverbank outside Gate City, near the Tennessee border.