ETX family says dog was skinned alive - KTRE.com | Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas

HALLSVILLE, TX (KLTV) - A family wants answers after finding their dog mutilated in an East Texas neighborhood.

The dog, named Hemi, was found Monday around 3:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Lansing Ln. in Hallsville. Hemi's owner, Jackie Smiddy, says she is devastated and wants the person responsible for killing her dog to be held accountable.

"He was friendly. He wouldn't hurt anyone, he stayed on the porch and he wouldn't chase after anyone. I mean you couldn't ask for a better dog," said Jackie.

Jackie doesn't understand why anyone would want to hurt Hemi, her pet of seven years.

"They had skinned him all the way down his back and this skin here was folded back, there was no skin on either side of him. No fur. It was just flesh," she said. 

"Once he got in the light I could see what blood all over him," said Cheyenne Smiddy, dog owner.

Jackie's daughter, Cheyenne said she went to let their other dog out when Hemi came around the house, covered in his own blood.

"I mean it's just like losing one of my kids. It's just hard that someone could take an innocent dog and do this to him," said Jackie.

Jackie said by the time her daughter came in to get her, Hemi was gone. They believe he went to die.

The family said Hemi was abused and neglected before the Houston Humane Society took him in and the Smiddy Family adopted him.

"I never thought he'd have to go through anything like this I mean we would never hurt him and to see him have to do it twice and not live, it hurts," said Cheyenne.

"Whoever did this will pay, they will pay for this," said Jackie.

The Harrison County Sheriff's Office said they're waiting for a veterinarian to examine the dog's body.

Harrison County officials said cruelty to animal charges could be filed.

If you have any information about this incident, you are asked to call the sheriff's office immediately.

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