PARMA, Ohio -- A Parma family is asking for help to identify who fatally shot their dog early Saturday and left his body outside Southwest Community Baptist Church.

Diesel, an 11-month-old husky, was let out at 4 a.m. to relieve himself, and he chased after deer he discovered in the back yard.

"After many attempts at calling for him and trying to chase him had failed, our family split up on foot and by car to search the area for any signs of him," Karen Kaiser said in an email. "We searched until 6:30 a.m., when Parma police were finally called and told of the issue. They immediately put Diesel at the top of their wanted list so if he were found, we would be notified right away."

The family got a call at 8:45 a.m. from a police dispatcher who told them to go to the church at 7840 State Road, where a dog had been found, less than a mile from their home.

"When we got there, it was a sad sight as our dog was dead, with no identification, because whoever placed him there removed his identification tag," Kaiser said.

The family thought Diesel had been hit by a car, until they got his body home and found a bullet wound in his right back leg and another through his jaw.

Police and Dr. Richard Vago at the Snow-Ridge Veterinary Hospital examined the wounds and told the family that the injuries were fatal, Kaiser said.

They believe that Diesel was first shot in the leg and dropped to the ground. The second bullet entered under his jawbone and exited through his mouth.

"The suspected weapon is a .22-caliber rifle," Kaiser said.

"Please help us determine why our beloved pet was killed so brutally and left in a church yard with no identification," she said. "There are many animals and children in this area and it would be a shame for something else to happen to a defenseless animal or person."

Anyone with information is asked to call Parma police at 440-885-1234.

"Our family is desperately seeking some answers and would like to stop this from ever happening again," Kaiser said. "R.I.P Diesel, we loved you very much."