Dog Carcass Found In Burn Pile In North Highlands

NORTH HIGHLANDS (CBS13) -  Sacramento Metro Fire officials are investigating a home on the 4700-block of Moorpark Way in Sacramento.  Fire crews found a dog burned inside a backyard Saturday afternoon.

Nicholas Beard lives across from the home where a burned dog was found on Saturday, and says the people who live inside the home have suddenly become evasive over the last month.

Beard says the two men and one woman who live at the home recently began harshly disciplining their dogs.  "One white dog was on a foot-long leash in the garage for hours at a time."  Beard says the trio had three dogs -- A white German shepherd, a brown Pitbull and a black Pitbull, which he thinks is the dog that was found burned.

According the Metro Fire battalion chief, fire crews were dispatched to the home right before noon to put out a fire in the backyard; that's when they found the deceased dog in a burn pile.

Jason also lives on the same street, and says he saw the two men get detained by Sheriff's deputies.

The men were later released, but the woman was taken to a local hospital by an ambulance.

A spokeswoman for Sacramento County's Animal Care and Regulation says animal control officers took the other two dogs into protective custody along with three reptiles and a bird, while the investigation continues.  The deceased dog is being examined by the county, and a necropsy is being performed to determine if the dog was alive or dead when it was burned.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Metro Fire Anonymous Arson Tipline at 916-859-3775.