Half-Hairless Dog Froze to Death on a Chain at -15°C

Okhtyrka. A half-hairless dog died in a yard on a chain at -15°C.

The Okhtyrka district police department said it was from old age… although the pathologist’s report said otherwise — the dog died from hypothermia.

Two neighbors told police that the cause of death was old age. The doghouse was uninsulated. The owner fed the dog poorly, so strangers were feeding it. The collar had cut into its neck leaving a bloody mark — but for the police, that was irrelevant.

The investigative team initially refused to go to the crime scene, but after personal connections and 2 hours of persuasion, they finally arrived — only to cover for the dog’s owner.

Volunteers asked them to document the scene and seize the dog’s body as evidence. Investigator Roman Kiyashko flatly refused and instead had the owner write a statement refusing to hand over the body.

The investigator had a private conversation with the owner and came out with such a statement. Then he simply fled the scene, leaving the evidence in the hands of the person interested in destroying it.

As expected, no criminal proceedings were opened and no records were entered into the registry. The official response stated they saw no signs of criminal offense because two ladies on a bench competently stated that the dog died of old age.

However, volunteers sent the body for a pathological autopsy and received conclusions that the dog died from hypothermia (froze to death).

AZOU prepared a complaint to the court and through the court secured the opening of criminal proceedings.

Even after the criminal proceedings were opened through court, the quality of the investigation and knowledge level of the Okhtyrka district police remain questionable.