Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

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June 3, 2009

Questions still unanswered in dog's death

Investigation is ongoing

BY ART BUKOWSKI

TRAVERSE CITY -- Jan Zimmerman is moving on, but she's haunted by unanswered questions.

"Possum Pie," Zimmerman's beloved poodle mix, disappeared from her yard in Garfield Township's Meadow Lane mobile home park on April 12, shortly after 11 p.m. She found the dog's dead and partially burned body near her home less than two hours later.

"I'd like to know what happened," Zimmerman said. "Not what happened physically, but why."

Possum was tied up in the yard, but his leash, collar and tags never surfaced.

Police continue to investigate the killing, Grand Traverse Undersheriff Nathan Alger said. No solid leads have developed and investigators might not pin down a suspect without a tip.

"You get into a waiting game," Alger said. "A lot of criminal activity is solved because people either saw or heard something and chose to do the right thing and call police. The longer we go, the more dependent we are on that information."

The pain was unbearable in the weeks following the incident, Zimmerman said, and it still hurts now and then. She buried Possum by a river on her property near Mesick.

"I cried every day I came home to an empty house," she said.

Friends and family urged Zimmerman, who works at the Rite Aid in Chum's Corner, to get a new dog. She resisted for a while, but two weeks ago bought "Criket," a small Pomeranian mix. The energetic puppy licked at her face as she coddled it and spoke to a reporter Tuesday.

Her boyfriend and neighbors chipped in to help her buy Criket, and she built a sturdy enclosure on her porch to keep the small dog safe.

Zimmerman said she won't give up hope that police will find who killed Possum. Then, perhaps, she'll have some questions answered, including why the dog slayer decided to bring it back to her property afterward.

"That's the thing that gets me. Why ... what's the purpose?" she said. "I don't think I did anything to anyone to cause them to retaliate against me."

The humane society and an individual benefactor offer a combined reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. Contact the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Department at 995-5002 or Silent Observer at 947-TIPS.

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