June 24, 2008
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

INTRUDERS APPARENTLY KILL PET DOG IN DELAND BURGLARY 

Three intruders burglarized a house south of DeLand Tuesday afternoon and apparently killed the family dog during the break-in. The homeowner interrupted the burglary when she returned to her house on Elsasser Avenue and encountered the intruders. When the homeowner yelled at the intruders to leave, one of the thieves shoved the victim into a coffee table as all three scrambled out of a bedroom window. The victim’s pet Pomeranian was found dead inside the house. The family’s other dog was unharmed. The incident is under investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. 

Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene after receiving a 911 call about the break-in at 1:40 p.m. Deputies began arriving less than four minutes later, but the suspects -- believed to be teenage boys -- had already fled. Three abandoned bicycles were found nearby, but it wasn’t certain whether they were connected to the break-in. A black pouch with some property in it also was found near the scene. 

While deputies believe some firearms may have been stolen from the home, they were waiting for crime scene technicians to process the inside of the house to determine what was taken in the burglary.