PEDRO — A couple went out midmorning Saturday to run a few errands only to come home to find their two pet dogs brutally killed.

“They had come home around 1 p.m. Saturday and found their dogs were dead,” Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless said. “The dogs were still leashed or chained near the front porch.”

Dead were a 4-year-old golden retriever-basset hound mix and a 5-year-old Walker coonhound. The dogs were owned by Mike and Josie Scythes, 397 State Route 373, Pedro.

Both animals had been stabbed and had their throats cut.

“This is a horrible thing,” Lawless said. “We are following up on leads. Is there somebody mad at the dog owner? Or is some person upset with the dogs themselves?”

Lawless said he knew of no report where neighbors had complained about the dogs.

Investigators are checking with those living in the area, also known as Texas Hollow, to determine if they saw anyone coming onto the Scythes’ property.

“We start eliminating people,” the sheriff said. “We feel it is right there in the area to be brazen enough to come on to the property and do something like that.”

Lawless did say investigators are following up on a person of interest, but declined to give any details.

“Thank God we don’t have crimes like this very often in our county,” he said. “They are taken seriously. These are innocent animals that have suffered a horrific death in my opinion. We would certainly like to apprehend the person to answer for their actions.”