2 dogs killed, 2 missing on Whidbey Island
Investigators are urgently asking for tips to find the person or people responsible for brutally killing two family dogs on Whidbey Island and leaving them at a state park trailhead.
OAK HARBOR, Wash. – Investigators are asking for tips to find the person or people responsible for brutally killing two family dogs on Whidbey Island and leaving them at the Dugualla State Park north trailhead.
A $5,000 dollar reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and prosecution in this case.
Also of concern to residents in Island County, other dog owners in the Oak Harbor area have also reported that their dogs have disappeared from the same area, and they are worried there is some sort of serial pet killer or thief on the loose.
The owner of the two dogs that were found deceased, Jenna Smeltzer, says her two dogs were found with brutal injuries, stacked on top of one another in the tall grass.
“This one was for our dogs. Before, we knew that they weren’t alive, we were offering a reward,” said Smeltzer, pointing to a missing dog flyer that she had printed before her dogs were found dead.
She says the holidays are a bit quieter now in ther house, without the voices of two very important family members, Beretta and Kimber, pictured below.
Smeltzer said Kimber was the protective one of the two.
“She was just so full of life and just so excited for every day,” said Jenna Smeltzer, Beretta & Kimber’s owner.
Beretta was the soft side of the pair, known for loving children and other pets.
“Big gentle giant, 90 lbs, but wouldn’t harm a fly,” said Smeltzer.
The two dogs were best friends, so it didn’t seem unusual that on November 19th they were together when they got out of the yard. A neighbor last reported seeing them around 3:30 p.m. that day near Dike and Jones Road.
“I got home from work around 4 and started searching for them, and you could tell the wind was starting to pick up,” said Smeltzer. She is pictured below with Kimber.
It was around the time the bomb cyclone was hitting, and Smeltzer was worried about her pet’s safety.
“I was out until 11 p.m. walking through the woods, going door to door. I was also very nervous because of the storm,” said Smeltzer.
Five days later, she never imagined she’d learn that it was a person who violently took their life.
“Just kind of in shock,” said Smeltzer.
A hiker found the dogs dead days later, on November 24, near the north Dugualla State Park trailhead off Sleeper Road and called the Island County Sheriff. The trailhead is shown below.
Because Smeltzer had previously reported the dogs missing, they called her to identify them at the trailhead.
“Heartless and sick individual,” said Smeltzer. “I mean, seeing them like that too, stacked on top of one another in the tall grass, was just devastating and heartbreaking.
Beretta’s neck was slashed and Kimber had blunt force head injuries in addition to other wounds. The dog’s collars were also removed, and investigators believe they were killed elsewhere before being dumped at the trailhead.
“Just awful because they were so lovable and such sweet dogs, they didn’t deserve to have their life end the way they did,” said Smetlzer.
Neighbor Zarina Kohl is also sick with worry after her two dogs disappeared on November 22.
“Please help me find my fur babies,” said Kohl.
Her dogs Kiya and Kyra somehow escaped their enclosure while she was working, and haven’t been seen since.
“It happened around the same time, and it’s the same area. We live very, very close to Dugalla Park,” said Kohl.
Smeltzer is finding some comfort in Rugar, a puppy her mom found abandoned near their home about two months prior to the tragedy, but nothing will replace Beretta and Kimber. The family is hoping that the person or people responsible for their deaths is brought to justice.
“I would like them found,” said Smeltzer. “Just to prevent it from happening to other families or these sweet huskies that have been missing for two weeks.
“Something weird is going on, on the island right now,” said Kohl. “Keep your dogs close to yourself, close to your home as much as possible.”
Kohl is asking anyone who knows the whereabouts of her dogs to reach out on her social media pages.
So far it’s unclear if the two cases are related, the Island County Sheriff’s Office is investigating both.
Pasado’s Safe Haven Communications Director Scott Kinney says Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation is also assisting in the investigation of the case. If you have any information, reach out to investigators.
Friends created an online fundraiser for the Smeltzer family to pay for cremation services and vet services.
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