Woman places dead dog in roadside box

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Ann Dillard-Hancock received a bizarre education recently.

"I didn't realize the mess I would create. I made a really stupid decision you're never too old to learn, and I'm 64."

Dillard-Hancock of Cantina Acres, a subdivision 10 miles up Lobo Canyon, made the comment a few days after the shooting death of a 3-year-old female Shar Pei dog specially trained for her 16-year-old autistic grandson, Danny.

She said that after "Kisses" was placed in a box with a sign, where she had found the lifeless dog shot in the head out by the unnamed street by Mile Marker 10 on State Highway 547, Danny went out at least 10 times to pet the temporary casket. She said she made the temporary casket with the sign after holding a family meeting.

When a person is autistic, she explained, "They have a longer grieving period than you or I. That's why he was out there petting the box, thinking it was good."

According to the report by Deputy Mike Oelcher the Cibola County Sheriff's Office K-9 officer the owner arrived home around 11 p.m. on July 3 to find the dog shot to death. She said the animal had been dragged to the street and believes it was to make it look as if the canine the breed is famous for its heavily wrinkled skin had been hit by a vehicle.

The deputy was sent to the home around 6 p.m. two days later and found flies infesting the pool of blood which had leaked through the cardboard box wrapped in plastic, with a sign on top which indicated no one would be able to hurt Kisses any more.

"She was upset and did not know what to do. So she placed the dog in the box with the message so the person (who) did this would see it," the deputy said.

Dillard-Hancock added that if the shooter had waited only a few more days, there would have been no target, as she is moving into Grants. "Kisses was a loving dog who never hurt anyone," she lamented.

While she has had problems with some of her neighbors, she added, "We don't know who did it. It could have been anybody."

The deputy told her she had to dispose of the dog, either by burying it or contacting the city of Grants animal control bureau, which has a contract with Cibola County to handle cases outside the city limits. She said she contacted a friend to help her take the dead dog to the dog pound in Grants.

Dillard-Hancock told the deputy the dog was valued at $500. It was a registered canine.


Stolen arsenal recovered
A cache of weapons, ammunition and other items, including jewelry dumped into an arroyo near Cubero in eastern Cibola County was recovered July 2, according to Cibola County Deputy Sheriff Raul Sanchez.

The deputy was sent to Seco Canyon Road in Cubero around 10 a.m. after a woman found them on top of a culvert and called the Cibola Regional Communications Center.

While he was collecting evidence at the scene, several relatives came up and told the deputy the property belonged to Kim Chavez. A New Mexico State Police Division Officer, Tony Nunez, had been investigating a burglary at Kim Chavez's home, a relative told the deputy. Sanchez secured the stolen items at the sheriff's office and sent his report to Nunez.

There were nine weapons in all, but the deputy's report identified six of them only as "firearm." The other three included a Remington .22 caliber bolt action rifle, an airgun pistol and a "Winchester" firearm. Unfired ammunition included 6 mm, .243 caliber, .222 caliber and .270 caliber Winchester. Also among the items were a ring with three diamonds in a Zales Jewelers box, a VHS video cassette tape and $8 in currency.

To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or (505) 870-7775 (cellular).