Bountiful dog found beaten, possibly poisoned


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BOUNTIFUL — In his quiet Bountiful neighborhood, Nick Gilson said he found the perfect place to put down roots.

"There's a lot of people in the neighborhood with dogs," said Gilson.

He called it a safe place to raise his family, but lately his thoughts have changed.

"It really is scary," he said.

On the evening of September 21st, Gilson returned home from a family dinner.

"I went to let the dogs in and noticed right away something was wrong with Jackson," he said.

Jackson is an 11-year-old rottweiler, german shepherd mix. A dog Gilson raised since a puppy.

"He was a great friend," he said.

Gilson took Jackson to the vet where not only did they find injuries consistent with a severe beating but other symptoms as well.

"According to the vet, symptoms indicative of a poison working its way through his system," he said.

Gilson filed a police report and contacted animal services.

"I think somebody went into the backyard and really just unleashed on him," he said.

An investigation is ongoing. On Saturday, Gilson made the difficult decision to put the dog down.

"It was obvious he was in a lot of pain," he said. "He had swelling in his brain and a very enlarged spleen."

On Tuesday, neighbors showed up at his house offering support.

Gilson has also found support online. He posted a plea on his Facebook page for anyone with information to come forward. That post has been shared more than eight thousand times.

(Photo: KSL-TV)
(Photo: KSL-TV)

"In spite of the horrible person who perpetrated this crime, to see the good in all these people that to me are total strangers are willing to lend a hand," he said. "It's been really encouraging."

He knows nothing will bring back the dog he loved so much. He just wants to make sure whoever did this, never does it again.

"I don't know what type of person would do that or why they would do that," he said.

Gilson is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the discovery of the person involved. He also has a GoFundMe* page for people to donate to the reward. He says if they never find the person responsible, all the money will go to the Utah Humane Society.

*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Ashley Kewish

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast