Maine News Updates

NORRIDGEWOCK - A Mercer businessman is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever was responsible for the death of two young dogs discovered last weekend.

Mychael Bartholf, owner of  The Wood Mill and Wood Idea on U.S. Route 2, made the offer this week after the two Shetland sheepdogs, or shelties, were found dead Saturday, their carcasses stuffed into a pillowcase and dumped over a snowbank.

The dogs, one a reddish-brown-and-white male, the other a black-and-white female, were found on Sandy River Road, off Winding Hill.

“We are animals lovers,” Bartholf said. “My wife and I donate to the animal shelter every year and this is what we want to do.”

Animal Control Officer Kathleen Ross said the dogs were bloody, but there were no visible wounds.
The dogs were sent for a necropsy, much like an autopsy for deceased animals.

Ross said the area in which the dogs were found is sparsely populated, being mostly farmland. She said she has no leads on the case, which she continues to investigate.

She could not be reached Thursday for an update on her investigation.

Meanwhile, Colleen Golding, president of the Kennebec Valley Shetland Sheepdog Club said there are plenty of opportunities locally to rescue dogs that are not wanted by their owners.

“Obviously the word’s not getting out about all the different rescues,” Golding, of Fairfield Center, said Thursday.

“All the dog clubs are members of the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs. They publish annually a dog breeder and rescue directory.”

Golding said there are rescue locations listed for 42 different breeds of dogs, with three in Maine just for shelties.