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Family dog targeted by weekend shooting

After hearing several gunshots near his Chestnut Street home Saturday night, Nov. 21, George Duke found that his dog, a 3-year-old rottweiler named Rocky, had been shot several times and was dead.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch After hearing several gunshots near his Chestnut Street home Saturday night, Nov. 21, George Duke found that his dog, a 3-year-old rottweiler named Rocky, had been shot several times and was dead.

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer 8:24 PM Monday, November 23, 2009

HAMILTON — George and Carmen Duke said they haven’t heard gunfire in their 2nd Ward neighborhood for many years.

The relative calm was disrupted in the 100 block of Chestnut Street at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, when a series of gunshots rang out in the alley adjacent to Dukes’ home.

Police were called and officers found shell casings in the alley, Carmen Duke said. No one appeared to be hurt, including the Dukes’ two grandchildren, who were inside the house and were told to get down on the floor when the shots were heard.

George Duke said the next day he found his dog, a 3-year-old rottweiler named Rocky, dead in his doghouse inside the Dukes’ fenced yard.

The dog, described as protective but otherwise friendly, had been shot about five times, he said.

“He never liked to stay in the house. He was an outside dog,” George Duke said. “He was one of the family.”

Carmen Duke said she called police again and filed a report. She said her grandchildren didn’t understand and she struggled to explain what happened to Rocky.

“This has hurt my husband bad. That was his baby,” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Carmen said she’s offering $100 to anyone with information about what happened.

The incident is under investigation and the perpetrator, if caught, will be charged with cruelty to animals, said Hamilton police spokesman Sgt. Tom Kilgour.

If you have information about the shooting, you are asked to call Hamilton police at (513) 868-5811, ext. 2007.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.

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