CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- A Cape Coral resident is concerned after discovering several dead animal carcasses in a canal near his home.
Steve Jay, who lives along NW 5th Avenue and Wilmington Parkway, told Fox 4 he spotted the rotting corpse of a what appeared to be a dog wrapped in a blanket tossed in the canal.
"It was laying in the corner of the water right there by the weeds," said Jay. "You could see part of the dog sticking out."
Part of a dog Jay says was severely mutilated. And it wasn't the only gruesome discovery Jay has made in the canal over the past month. He told Fox 4, he also spotted another pup's lifeless body in the canal last week.
"The head was missing, the legs were missing and it was skinned," said Steve Jay.
According to Jay, dogs aren't the only animals possibly being dumped in the area.
"This was in a bag, this one time: a goat head, there were three chicken feet, and a couple of clips of human hair, a frog leg, like some Santeria crap you know" said Jay.
Santeria is a spiritual practice that can sometimes involve animal sacrifices of chickens, roosters, goats, sheep and pigeons according to Santeriachurch.org.
Fox 4 contacted the Lee County Domestic Animal Services LCDAS about the matter. A spokesman said the department is investigating the claims, but would not speculate on why the animal parts are showing up.
Meanwhile, neighbors like Michelle Nolan worry about who may be lurking so close to their homes.
"A lot of times I am afraid that people do live in these woods and could possibly hurt a human being," said Nolan.
Monday a LCDAS investigator showed up to survey the area. For residents like Jay the images of how man's best friend was treated will never go away.
"It's a dog," said Jay. "It's more personal you know and it's just sad to see that somebody could do that."
