It looks like dogs died from disease not cold, cops say

DECATUR — Detectives say further investigation now suggests the two dead dogs found in a Decatur shed died of disease rather than exposure to cold weather.

Detective Sgt. Brian Earles with the Decatur Police Department said the owner of the dogs says they died after contracting a disease called parvovirus.

“The owner had apparently taken the dogs to a family friend who is a vet,” Earles told the Herald & Review on Monday. “And it looks as though the animals died from parvo disease, but that is awaiting confirmation. But what killed the dogs was not exposure.”

The bodies of the two unknown breed, black and white dogs were reported Jan. 23 at an address in the 1500 block of South Fairview Avenue. The deaths had initially been reported to the Macon County Animal Control and Care Center which turned the case over to the Decatur Police Department after cruelty was suspected.

Earles said the case has now been referred back to animal control “for further investigation” to check out it really was disease that caused the dogs’ demise.

Earles said the animals were found with shelter in a temperature of around 52 degrees. “So, a little chilly but not enough to actually cause the dogs to freeze to death,” he added.

A San Diego man has died after catching a flesh eating disease in a pond. 41-year-old Jeff Bova, was chasing his dog into a pond that was created by rain and picked up the bacteria through an open wound on his body, according to NBC News. Veuer's Lindsey Granger reports.