SWATARA TOWNSHIP, DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. - A family dog stolen, stabbed and left to die on the side of the road. The family is demanding answers from the person or people responsible for their dog's death.
It was Friday morning when Damien Malfara, owner of 8-year-old Boston Terrier/Jack Russell mix named Bella, went to get breakfast with a friend around 7 a.m. When he got back around 8 a.m. Bella was missing.
"Somebody decided that while I was gone," said Malfara. "They came and went to the back of the house, entered the basement, and took my dog out."
Swatara Township Police say they received a call at 7:47 a.m. for an injured dog abandoned by a white male on the 300 block of Rupp Hill Road. That dog was Bella, the family says she was stabbed multiple times and her throat was slit. She was taken to an animal hospital but her injuries were too severe for her to be saved.
"Whenever I found out about what happened to her, I lost feeling," said Malfara. "I still cry whenever I see a dog that reminds me of her. She was my built in best friend, I loved her."
Malfara now heartbroken his dog is not here to help him get through this tough time. He wants the person who did this to come forward and own up to the crime.
"This is beyond like anything. You shouldn't do that, it's an animal," said Malfara. "Animals care more about people than I'm guessing we do to them. All I know is she didn't deserve this."
The family says they are happy to know with the passage of Libre's Law in 2017, there are increased penalties for animal abuse. Anyone with information on who took and killed Bella is asked to call Swatara Township Police.