DaytonDailyNews.com

ST. CLAIR TWP. — In one of the most extreme animal cruelty cases ever seen in Butler County, a dog's body was found Thursday boiled and skinned and left along Four Mile Creek Road near Eaton Avenue.

The Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton is offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of those responsible.

The body of the dog — which humane society officials believe was a 2-year-old, dark brown male Chow/Pit Bull mix — was brought to the humane society by Butler County Animal Control about 1:30 p.m. Thursday totally skinned, except for fur on the paws, said Leland Gordon, executive director of the humane society.

A humane society veterinarian who performed an autopsy on the animal Thursday said it revealed that the 35- to 40-pound dog was boiled alive in either oil or water and then skinned, Gordon said.

The dog's body also had cuts on its legs and around the neck, he said. Around one of the rear legs, officials found a wire that may have been used to string up the dog, he said.

Gordon said this is one of the most extreme animal cruelty cases the society has ever seen.

"People that do these kind of things to animals are sick and something is wrong with them," he said.

"If people don't like animals they need to stay away from them or if they have a problem animal they need to bring him to their local animal shelter," Gordon said. "Don't do stuff like this to them. This is wrong and it's disgusting."

Kim Sunderhaus lives across the road from where the dog's body was found. She said there has been a lot of partying and other suspicious activity along the dead end road, WKRC Local 12 reported Thursday night.

"We have found suspicious things like that, a cat that didn't look quite right. It might have been impaled, that unnerved us a little bit," Sunderhaus told Local 12.

Gordon said a similar case of a dog being skinned was reported about eight months ago in Morgan Twp. That case also remains unsolved, he said.

Anyone who witnesses animal cruelty should report it to their local animal shelter, Gordon said.

Anyone with information about the death of the Chow/Pit Bull mix should call the Animal Friends Humane Society at (513) 867-5727 or write them at 5225 Trenton Road, Trenton, Ohio, 45067.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2190 or dewilson@coxohio.com.