Dead dog found with legs bound in Walnut Creek canal

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Contra Costa County Animal Services is asking the public for help after a 14-year-old dog was killed in Walnut Creek. The dog named Gino was found in a canal and what was done to the merle German Shepherd was so awful that many in the community are now worried about their own animals.

"And he wasn't in his bed," said Walnut Creek resident Marilyn Devengenzo. "I thought he was just outside going potty."

She says Gino went missing sometime late Sunday night from their home in Walnut Creek. Fliers went up the next morning.

"I talked to people," she said. "And no one had seen him, no one had seen any dog."

Little did the family know, Gino was only a few feet from their home. He was found in a canal in the area of Northgate and Walnut Avenue by a worker from the water district

"The dog was found floating in the canal right at an area where debris concentrates and they witnessed a piece of probably shoelace wrapped around the dog's hind legs," said Rick Golphin with Contra Costa County Animal Services.

"This was malicious, horrible, sick behavior," said an emotional Devengenzo. "And this animal was sweet and tender and kind."

Contra Costa County Animal Services is now asking the public for help in solving this case. They are now in charge of the investigation.

"We don't have any forensic information right now so we need someone who has heard or seen anything to help us out," Golphin said.

"There was no need for my dog to die whatsoever," Devengenzo said.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact animal services at (925) 335-8373.