An adult male German shepherd mix was tied to a car and then dragged 3 miles to its death at the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction.

"This was an incredible act of cruelty done to a defenseless animal," Joan Anzelmo, superintendent of the monument, told The Denver Post.

  (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Anzelmo said that, thanks to tips, authorities have focused on a specific suspect and hoped to have him in custody soon. She said that, based on information they have received, officials believe the dog had been stolen.

Anzelmo said tracks left in the snow clearly show how the crime was committed: The dog initially walked, then ran and eventually was dragged when it couldn't keep up with the vehicle. It was finally dumped after it died from the dragging.

She said the German shepherd mix was forced to run up one of the steepest hills at the monument. During the 3 miles, the dog had to run on about 2 inches of snow, around multiple switchbacks and sharp curves that gained more than 1,000 feet in elevation before the animal collapsed and died.

The dog was found by the chief of maintenance of the monument about 4:30 a.m., with a silver and blue synthetic rope around its neck. Anzelmo said the employee was very upset.

The superintendent said there is quite a bit of evidence, including the tire tracks of the vehicle.

Investigators think the incident occurred between 2 and 4 a.m.

Anzelmo said she was optimistic the culprit would be arrested. She said there is no chance the dragging was unintentional.

Marylou Randour, a staff psychologist for the Humane Society of the United States, said the person or persons who committed the act is a psychopath. "He is someone who has no compassion or empathy for any living creatures," Randour said.

Randour added that the individual is extremely dangerous and a threat to human beings as well as animals.  "He may not have been angry at all," she said of the individual. "He may have done it for kicks — to torture an animal in an elaborate and detailed way."  Randour, who has studied animal abusers for years, said a recent study of 43,000 people found that those with drug problems and mental-health problems are most likely to engage in animal cruelty.

Update 12/31/09:  A man wanted in connection with the dragging death of dog at the Colorado National Monument was arrested today in Grand Junction and charged with aggravated cruelty towards animals.

  (Photo courtesy of The Denver Post)

Joan Anzelmo, superintendent of the monument, identified the suspect as Steven Clay Romero, 37, of Grand Junction.

She said Romero is alleged to have stolen the dog — Buddy, a German shepherd-blue heeler mix — from people in Delta. He allegedly took the dog to the Colorado National Monument, tied the dog to his truck and dragged the dog for three miles.   Anzelmo said the dog was dumped at the roadside.

Romero was arrested as he emerged from a courtroom in the Grand Junction Courthouse, said Anzelmo. He was appearing on unrelated traffic charges.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, video surveillance at the west entrance of the monument showed a double-cab pickup truck entering the monument with a dog in the bed of the truck.

Cameras in the outbound lane showed the same truck leaving the monument without the dog.

After reviewing footage of the truck, National Park Rangers visited Romero's residence where they saw paw prints in the snow of the front yard.

One witness told investigators he saw Romero leave the residence with the dog and return later without it.  A second witness told investigators that Romero said he was going to kill the dog.

A search was made of Romero's home and inside the garage was rope matching the rope tied around the dog's neck.

Romero faces one count of aggravated cruelty towards animals. If convicted, the penalty is a maximum of three years in federal prison and a fine of $100,000, and one year of mandatory parole.

Anzelmo said she believes additional charges may be filed against Romero.

Update 1/5/10:  The sister of a man accused of torturing and killing a German shepherd mix now faces charges of stealing the dog the day before it died.

The sister told police she took the dog named Buddy from the bed of a pickup truck because she thought it had been abandoned.

Thirty-two-year-old Melissa Lockhart of Fruita faces felony theft charges.

Delta Police Sgt. Brad Lamb stated that Buddy and another dog were swiped Dec. 29 from the bed of a truck in downtown Delta. A witness to the double dognapping wrote down Lockhart's license plate number.

"She indicated three different stories to me, none of which were feasible," Lamb told the newspaper. "Basically, they were different versions of she felt the dogs were abandoned."  Lockhart's "kids started playing with the dogs, she put them in her car and left," Lamb said.

Police haven't said how the dogs ended up with Romero. The second dog has been returned home safe.

Romero appeared in a federal court on January 4th, where he was appointed a public defender. He's being held without bond in the Mesa County Jail. Romero told U.S. Magistrate Judge Laird Milburn that since he was jailed he has been harassed by other inmates, but didn't elaborate.  "Pretty much everybody thinks I've done it," Romero told the judge.

Lockhart surrendered to police and has been released on a $5,000 bond.

Update 1/6/10:  A woman accused of stealing a dog that was tortured and killed told her brother to "get rid" of the German shepherd mix.  That's according to an affidavit in the theft arrest of 32-year-old Melissa Lockhart.

According to Lockhart's arrest affidavit, Lockhart stole two dogs and then brought Buddy to Romero's house and asked him to "get rid of the dog."

Lockhart is free on bond and faces felony theft and false reporting charges.  Romero remains in jail unable to post bond.

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