Family wants justice after dog shot to death

NILES, Mich. -- Tragedy unfolded for a Niles family after their beloved pet accidentally escaped from the yard and ended up being found five days later shot multiple times in the head.

That was Slash, a 7-year-old husky rescue killed by a neighbor’s gunfire, the Clifford family said.

Slash went missing Oct. 16 after a delivery driver left the gate open to the Cliffords’ yard.

“I did what I normally do, I let him out on the porch so he could run to the gate and that day the gate was open and he took off,” said Jaimi Clifford. “I grabbed the kids and we went after him, then we went out the next day as soon as the sun came up and we were out the entire day and the last place he was seen was on Huntly [Road] and we found him on the property of Dicks.”

That property, they said, is owned by one of their neighbors.

While the Cliffords have contacted authorities who are now investigating, Jaimi said she wants the person who shot Slash to come forward – even setting up a GoFundMe page in Slash’s honor, not for money, but instead to raise awareness.

“I want whoever did this to come forward, I want them to be held accountable for their actions to the fullest. I don’t want them to be able to take another person’s family,” said Jaimi. “If they did it to Slash, they will do it again.”

The Cliffords said an autopsy was done on Slash and determined his cause of death to be gunshots to the head.

As for the GoFundMe page, despite the family not asking for money, they have received an outpouring of donations. That link can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/269lkr9xs0?&-ccBKk1eGqQFjOI2D2SQulIqVEpou2_ZI