Cosby, TN (WOKI) A Cocke County man found his dog beaten to death after going missing. Now, he’s trying to figure out who is responsible.

“I was stunned,” Tanner Russell said when he found his six-month-old dog Marvin dead. Russell said Marvin went missing a few weeks ago and that he found him a few days later in a bag on the side of a road.

“Nothing on his body. He just had what I would describe as dents in his head, and he looked like he’d been dipped in red paint.”

“If you would have seen him, you could tell it was intentional,” Russell said.

Now, Russell is trying to figure out who’s responsible. He lives in Cosby, which is a rural community in Cocke County.

“Everybody knows everybody, more or less. All the neighbors knew him. It wasn’t like anybody disliked him,” Russell said.

The Smoky Mountains Humane Society said they’ve seen multiple cases of dog abuse. The vice president said a second dog was found with a gunshot wound to the face, happening in the same area as the first, just days after Marvin was found dead.

“It would suggest that there is a person involved with this,” said Sara Kenney, Vice President of the Smoky Mountains Humane Society. She encourages people to reach out to the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office if they see cases of animal abuse.

Russell said he filed a report with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff said they are investigating.