Dog lured from backyard before tortured body found tied up in ocean
One of the owners has started her own initiative so 'this doesn't happen to anyone else'.
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: A heartbroken Queensland family are urging people to look out for their pets after their dog's battered dead body was found tied up in the ocean.
Known as the Brighton Houdini, four-year-old Koby was "a gentle giant with such a free soul", who always managed to make his way back to his Brisbane home .
"It was almost like he knew every street in Brighton and just about everyone in Brighton knew who he was. And they certainly loved him just as much as we did," Tori Hornsveld told Yahoo News Australia, remembering her family dog.
However, when Tori went to the yard to say her usual goodbyes to him before work one day last month, Koby was nowhere to be found.
"The gates were locked, there were no signs of him breaking out as he has done in the past and my puppy who doesn’t seperate from him was still there," she said.
That's when the family started posting on Facebook community groups and Tori received a few messages from neighbours who allegedly saw "two men around there 40s luring him towards a dark red SUV, patting and trying to cuddle him".
Queensland Police investigating dog theft
Police confirmed they are investigating a dog being allegedly stolen from a street property in Brighton on July 22.
"Initial reports indicate that between 2pm and 3pm two men entered the yard and took the animal which was later located deceased," a Queensland Police spokeswoman told Yahoo News Australia.
"Anyone with information is urged to contact police."
Koby found eight days later in ocean
More than a week later, a couple were fishing about 10 minutes away from the family's home, where they found Koby's tied-up body in the ocean and notified Ms Hornsveld.
They posted a harrowing, now deleted, image on the Moreton Bay Lost and Found Pets group, which shows that his skin was torn, having possibly been tortured.
With the help of several community members, Ms Hornsveld managed to retrieve Koby's body and "get him home".
"The Brighton veterinary clinic offered to scan his microchip to identify him on the way home, we did and it was him," she said. "We would have never of found him without the help of such a supportive community."
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The mourning family are still looking for answers, hoping that whoever is responsible will be found.
Ms Hornsveld also started a Missing/ Stolen Pets group for her and surrounding suburbs "in honour and memory of Koby".
"I don’t want this to ever happen to anybody else. The way my heart has broken, no one deserves that pain. I’m finding peace and comfort knowing I can help others find their lost animals and to share Koby's story," she said.
"If you see a lost animal running around please don’t ignore it, take him/her as quickly as you can to a safe place such as your backyard and post in community pages, or to a vet, the RSPCA or the council for their owners to collect."
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