Puppy found dead inside barbecue grill

HUMBLE, Texas – A family is devastated after finding their puppy dead inside a barbecue pit Sunday.

Gema was an 8-month-old pit bull puppy. Her owners said someone attacked her in their backyard whie they were visiting family.

"I got her when she was a puppy and I've raised her," owner Cecelia Resendez said "If they can do that to a dog, imagine what they could do to a kid. If it's a kid doing that, they need help."

The home is on Orchard Ridge Lane in the Deerbrook Estates subdivision near Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The family quickly realized something was wrong when they came home and didn't hear the dog. They looked outside and saw the dog's legs sticking out from a grill.

The dog did not appear to be burned, but Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constables said the dog had several scratches and wounds to its legs and head.

One investigators thinks it may have been hit by a car and then shoved into the grill. But the way the pet was killed is still under investigation.

"It's still confusing to me," owner Jesse Sosa said. "They had to try really hard because she was big for a puppy but she wasn't aggressive at all. All the kids come and want to play with her."

Detectives told the dog's owners it's going to be hard to determine who did this because there are no security cameras in the area and neighbors who live around the home said they didn't hear or see anything.