'I'm so lost.' Wellington woman's dogs killed, injured in Monday night attack
Larimer County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help in investigating a brutal attack on two dogs in Wellington Monday night.
One of the dogs, Jax, was killed in the attack while the other, Diesel, suffered serious injuries but is recovering, according to his owner. County officials said the dogs suffered cuts and stab wounds in the attack involving an unidentified man.
The attack happened between 10:30-11:10 p.m., Monday, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. Yadhira Morales, Jax and Diesel’s owner, said she was out of town when the attack took place. Morales told the Coloradoan via Facebook Messenger that her daughter found the dogs afterward.
“I feel devastated,” Morales said. “This will stay in my memory as one of the worst memories I’ve ever had. I’m so lost.”
Morales said she adopted Jax and Diesel at a time when she was dealing with severe depression and that they were helping her to cope.
“Jax specifically knew how to support me,” Morales said. “He would force me to take him to the park, like he was taking me out of my sadness. What am I going to do now without him?”
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Morales said her other dog, Diesel, is shy and noticeably sad now. “We both need him,” she said about Jax. She said she hopes to have a memorial for Jax.
Several Wellington residents in a community Facebook page offered to help cover Diesel’s medical bills and set up a GoFundMe page for Morales. Morales said she’s shy when it comes to asking for help, but she does need it after paying for Diesel’s care with her credit card.
Sheriff's office officials are looking for any information from the public on the man who attacked the dogs. The sheriff’s office said it is looking for a white man between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot-2 who was wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and light-colored pants. He is also believed to drive a motorcycle with an Arkansas license plate.
Morales said in a Facebook post she has cameras in her yard that captured the man attacking her dogs. She told the Coloradoan the man walked past the fence several times and she thinks he was trying to get her dogs to trust him enough to approach him near the fence. Once they did, he attacked them.
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Morales’ yard faces Sixth Street, across from the McDonald's in Wellington, off of Interstate 25. Last week, a Wellington resident who was in the McDonald's drive-thru posted a photo in a Wellington Facebook group showing a group of kids on bikes near Morales’ fence, saying they saw the kids throw spitballs at the dogs. Morales commented on the post and said that she put cameras in her backyard as a result.
An image from security footage taken Monday night was included in the sheriff’s office press release and shows the man walking away from the scene, carrying a bag.
Sheriff’s office officials did not say whether they were investigating any connection to a 2019 case where a dog was found dead on the railroad tracks in Wellington after an apparent attack.
Anyone with information relevant to the case can call 970-498-5509.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Wellington, Colorado, woman's dogs killed, injured in Monday attack
