MAN’S BEST FRIEND: Delilah was found shot on Eason Crossing after an ongoing dispute with his owner’s neighbor.

THOMASVILLE — What started a simple case of a dog wandering into the neighbor’s yard has become significantly convoluted as a dog by the name of Delilah was found dead on the side of the road on Eason Crossing with a gun shot wound to the head, just three miles away from her owner’s home.

Delilah’s owner Trevor Smith, who also owns her mate Bruce, was at the Sheriff’s office on Tuesday after Delilah got into the neighbor’s yard. According to Trevor’s sister Ashley Williams, there has been an ongoing dispute between the neighbors.

After returning from the Sheriff’s office, Smith realized that Delilah was nowhere to be found and the neighbor claimed they didn’t know where she was. Later that same day, Smith went out for a ride on his motorcycle and found Delilah dead on the side of the road just three miles from his home.

According to Thomas County Animal Services Captain Chuck McDonald, Deputy Clemmons responded to the scene to photograph and collect evidence.

The department has since canvassed the area in hopes of finding any video cameras that were on and pointing toward the direction of the incident. Unfortunately, McDonald said the area Delilah was left in was very obscure, leaving them without a lot of evidence.

McDonald said the situation was stunning, as he has dealt with animals that had been shot while roaming in the wild, but never a pet following a dispute.

Despite Smith’s dispute with his neighbor, McDonald said there is still no evidence to correlate the death of Delilah and the neighbor.

However, once the individual responsible for the death of Delilah is found, McDonald said they will be charged with felony cruelty to animals.

McDonald urges anyone with any information to come forward. His hope is that maybe someone saw a car pulled over and would be able to provide details that will help with the investigation.