A man was killed at his Colorado home last week — and the murderer stole a litter of his Doberman puppies, according to police.
Paul Peavey, 57, was found dead Saturday in the Idaho Springs house that doubles as a dog-breeding kennel, three days after he was reported missing.
As many as 10 European Doberman pups were stolen from the home, but officials could not confirm whether the dogs — which can sell for several thousand dollars — served as a motive for the murder.
The dog breeder’s friends, however, believe he was targeted for the young canines.
Peavey’s friends were the ones who found his body down an embankment on his property on Saturday, the Clear Creek County Sherrif’s Office confirmed.
It was the second trip to the home for some, who arrived on Wednesday after not hearing from Peavey for several days.
“I’m the one that went up to the property and realized things were awry to the point where the puppies were gone, the house was tossed, anything of value missing,” friend Bruce Boynton told Denver 7.
Boynton called police for a welfare check, but deputies who swept the property Thursday found nothing.
Officials did not reveal Peavey’s cause of death but said the state of his remains made clear it was “suspicious” in nature.
There have been no arrests.
As many as 10 Doberman puppies were missing from the kennel, but Peavey’s three adult dogs were left behind and alive.
Police said some of the stolen puppies had already been sold, but had not yet been picked up by their new owners.
All of them, however, are microchipped.
According to his business, Elite European Dobermans, Peavey bred two litters of pups a year on a 110-acre property in Idaho Springs, a mountain town about 30 miles west of Denver.
The breeder promised “quality over quantity” and offered to provide buyers with 7-month-old Doberman puppies that were already trained.
His latest litter of puppies was born in mid-July, meaning the missing puppies could be as young as four weeks old.
“His dogs were his life. He had been through some things in life, and the dogs were his therapy,” Boynton said.
Officials believe the missing pups may have been sold on social media sites or elsewhere since Aug. 20. They are encouraging anyone who bought a Doberman puppy from central Colorado in the last week to contact police.
Those who have bought a puppy from Elite European Dobermans since June are also asked to contact the sheriff’s office to help determine exactly how many puppies are missing.
