Arcangelo Caressa/Facebook
The Italian sniffer dog was killed after eating a sausage filled with claws thrown into a kennel, his trainer said.
Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, was welcomed as a hero who found nine missing people in his career, and was once honored by the Italian Prime Minister.
Giorgia Meloni condemned the “despicable, coronavirus, unacceptable” murder in an X post.
Dog trainer Arcangelo Caressa said he knew who was responsible and sworn to make them pay for their actions.
It is suggested that the murder took place as revenge for Bruno’s role is dismantling the dog fight ring.
“I passed away with you today,” Carressa said in a Facebook post announcing Bruno’s death.
He said he found a dog he considered a “brother” on Friday morning at the doghouse at the Endes Search and Rescue Training Center in Tart, Puglia.
“You fought for the rest of your life to save humans, but now it was humans who did this to you,” he added. “You were, you were, you were, you will remain my hero.”
The trainer said Italian police and the prosecutor’s office had launched a joint investigation into the murder.
Speaking to the perpetrator, Mr. Caressa said: “I know who you are, and you’ll pay for it.”
He said local media received death threats in the weeks leading up to Bruno’s death.
“It wasn’t a random gesture. They want me to get aside. But I will never give in. This is a sneaky attack made for money and revenge,” he told the Corriere Della Sera newspaper.
Italian MP and animal rights activist Michela Vittoria Branvila urged police to bring the person in charge to justice.
She suggested that Bruno was targeted by criminals because of his role in seizing the dogs used in the battle.
The newly strengthened law, led by Brambilla, can punish anyone who kills an animal with a fine of 60,000 euros (£51,000) in prison for up to four years using torture.
Brambilla is asking for the law to be applied due to Bruno’s “long and painful death” due to internal bleeding caused by nail-filled sausages.
“We owe it to this noble animal,” she said in a statement.