Guam – Pet lovers in northern Guam are cautioned to be on the lookout for a predator who’s brutally attacking “man’s best friend.”

One of the more violent cases involves a dog named Pugua who was killed near his Yigo home. He suffered from bullet wounds and a bloodied shovel was found near his lifeless body. While no one saw the culprit who did this, neighbors recall hearing Pugua’s distressed howls around 11 a.m. Thursday morning. Shortly after the howls stopped Pugua was discovered.

Pugua, a 2-year-old white Jack Russell terrier-boonie mix, was well known in the neighborhood as playful and loving, inseparable from his playmate Lady. His owners Alexie and Nate Mapson share that he got his name because he acted like a little nut. The Mapsons are beside themselves in grief and hope that the individual responsible for this senseless crime is brought to justice.

Information is being sought on a person of interest who made threats against Pugua and other neighborhood dogs a day prior to the incident. He is described as a larger Chamorro man, standing 6 feet tall, weighing between 200 to 230 pounds with tattoos and short black hair. He was last seen Wednesday between 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Yigo near the Yigo Mayor’s Office pushing a stroller alongside a pregnant Chamorro woman who appeared to stand 5’5 tall, weighing 150 pounds with long black hair, and two children under the age of 3.

Guam Animals in Need Board President Cyrus Luhr states that the attack on Pugua is not the only act of animal cruelty reported in the north. Three other violent attacks on pets in the same neighborhood have been reported near the Yigo Mayor’s Office as well.

Across the street from Pugua’s home, a neighbor reports their golden retriever was shot in the leg and testicles with a bb gun earlier this week. Further up the same road, a couple reports their Rottweiler was shot in the chest and killed a few weeks ago. Then today a new dog was found with bullet wounds.

Territorial Veterinarian Dr. Thomas Poole says that Pugua was shot with a large caliber bullet, possibly with a 9 mm handgun, while the dog discovered today may have been shot with a 22 caliber gun.

While some may feel that crimes such as this pale in comparison to crimes against humans, a 2001 to 2004 study by the Chicago Police Department “revealed a startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses toward human victims.”

And just like a crime against another person, animal cruelty is punishable by law. According to Guam law, animal abuse in the first degree is a third degree felony and is described as a person who causes serious physical injury, cruelly causes the death of the animal or tortures the animal.

First time offenders convicted of this felony face a minimum of three years in prison. If convicted of a crime of a second degree felony, that person faces anywhere from one to eight years behind bars.

If you have any information regarding the death of Pugua or any of the other pets who were attacked, contact GPD at 477- 4357.