Family’s pet dog killed after Thanksgiving Day burglary
By Lauren Pozen
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COVINA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Covina family is struggling to recover from a Thanksgiving Day tragedy after their home was burglarized and their beloved pet dog Rocky was killed.
“I can’t understand,” said Monica Lopez. “Only cry, cry and cry.”
Lopez’s beloved dog, whom she refers to as her angel with paws, was home when she locked up to meet her family for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. She says that she left him with food and water and told him that she would be back soon.
When she got home at around 10:30 a.m., she instantly knew something was wrong when she saw that the back door was open. She said that her bedroom was ransacked, with drawers and clothing tossed on the floor, along with pieces of glass from the shattered window. She believes that the thieves took her jewelry, including her wedding ring, and cash that she was using to pay her home’s mortgage.
Lopez says that Rocky probably ran after the burglars when they left the back door open. Her son, who rushed to her house after learning of the burglary, found him about 400 feet from the home with severe head trauma. Despite the best efforts of a local veterinarian, Rocky died.
“He is not an animal,” Lopez said. “The animal was the people who come here, and they don’t care.”
Though he’s not sure it’s the same people, Lopez’s son says that in October, a man and woman knocked on the window outside of his mother’s bedroom. That duo ran off when they realized someone was home.
He says that Rocky had been the heart of his mother’s home since her husband passed. Now, he says the empty food and water bowls are a heartbreaking reminder of her angel that is now gone.
“It’s not good. Why kill my dog? Why kill my dog, Rocky?” Lopez said.
The family says that the Thanksgiving holiday delayed the law enforcement investigation, and that detectives said they would be back on Monday to dust for fingerprints and try to collect additional evidence.
Police have not yet told CBS Los Angeles how many suspects they’re looking for, or if they have a description.
As the investigation continues, the family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the damage to Lopez’s home, the money she lost and other expenses, including security cameras to help with security in the future. The fundraiser can be found by searching for the keywords: “Help Covina widow recover from tragic Thanksgiving burglary.”
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