An Orange County couple says they are "traumatized" after their home was broken into and their beloved pet poodle was beaten so severely that she did not survive.

"He called me and said we've been robbed and they've done something to Fefe. You better come home," homeowner Peggy Lawson said.

Lawson and her husband George have lived in the Yorba Linda home for decades. They believe the burglars who broke in stole personal papers and their handgun, using the weapon to beat 12-year-old Fefe so severely that the couple had to euthanize her.

Following the attack, Fefe's right eye was swollen shut.

"The vet said we'd have to transfer her to a trauma unit hospital, but she will never be the dog you had ... her personality would never be the same," Peggy Lawson said tearfully.

The Lawsons are devastated and disturbed after hearing a neighbor who lives just a few doors down was also burglarized. They want the person or persons responsible to be caught or turn themselves in.

"I'm traumatized. I just can't believe that a person, a human being, would treat a dog like they did and put her in so much pain that we had to put her down," George Lawson said.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating both burglaries. At this point they do not have a suspect description.