A man was murdered in his Colorado home last week after police say the killer stole one of his Doberman puppies.
Paul Peavy, 57, was found dead Saturday in his Idaho Springs home that doubled as a dog kennel, three days after he was reported missing.
As many as 10 European Doberman puppies were stolen from the home, but authorities could not confirm whether the dogs, which can sell for thousands of dollars, were a motive for the killing.
But dog breeder friends believe he was targeting young dogs.
Peavy's friends discovered his body on an embankment on his property on Saturday. The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
For those who arrived at the home on Wednesday, it was the second visit after not hearing from Peavy for several days.
“I went to the property and discovered the puppy was gone, the house had been ransacked and valuables were missing,” said friend Bruce Boynton. He told Denver 7.
Boynton called police to check on his welfare, but officers who searched the property on Thursday found nothing.
Authorities did not disclose the cause of Peavy's death but said the condition of the body made it clear the cause of death was “suspicious.”
No arrests have been made.
Ten Doberman puppies were missing from the kennel, but Peavy's three adult dogs remained alive.
Police say some of the stolen puppies have already been sold and have yet to be adopted by new owners.
But they all have microchips embedded in them.
Peavy raised puppies twice a year on 110 acres in Idaho Springs, a mountain town about 30 miles west of Denver, according to his company, Elite European Dobermans.
The breeder promised “quality over quantity” and offered to provide the buyer with a seven-month-old Doberman puppy that was already trained.
The most recent puppies were born in mid-July, so the missing puppy could be around four weeks old.
“The dogs were his life. He'd been through a lot in his life and they were his therapy,” Boynton said.
Authorities believe the missing puppy may have been sold on social media sites or elsewhere since Aug. 20. Authorities are urging anyone who bought a Doberman puppy in central Colorado last week to contact police.
Anyone who purchased puppies from Elite European Dobermans since June is also asked to contact the sheriff's office to confirm the exact number of missing puppies.
