SAGINAW, MI — Saginaw County Animal Control officers report on Thursday evening, Oct. 24, they made a gruesome find on county property in Saginaw.

The item, tied to a thin rope, was later positively identified as a severed dog's penis and testicles, according to Animal Control Director Kevin Wilken.

Wilken said it was discovered at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday near the back of the Saginaw County Animal Care Center property located at 1312 Gratiot.

"We knew it was obviously some sort of animal parts," he said.

Initially, Wilken said he thought it might be a dog's paw, but said one of his employees later identified the item as dog genitals. He said it is not clear whether the genitals came from a live or dead dog, though Wilken said they likely came from a dead dog due to a lack of blood.

Wilken said he reported the incident to the Saginaw Police Department. He doesn't know who may have left the animal parts there or why.

"Halloween is coming up and there are some groups that will sacrifice animals in the weeks leading up to the end of October," he said. "Possibly it was someone trying to make some sort of statement. Maybe it's somebody that thinks this is funny. I'm not really sure what it is."

Wilken said he plans to retain the remains a week or two as potential evidence before disposing of it.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call the Saginaw Police Department at 989-759-1289 or the Saginaw County Animal Care Center at 989-797-4500.

Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.