Kyndell Brandt couldn't tell his 6-year-old daughter what he really thought happened to the family's two dogs.
"It's bad to say someone basically murdered our pets," said Brandt, 32, of Victoria.
About 7 a.m. Wednesday, the Victoria Police Department called Brandt to notify him they had found his two, missing Doberman pinschers in the 3800 block of Miori Lane, according to police records. Khaos, a 4-year-old female, and Kolt, a 3-year-old male, were found dead - each with a single gunshot wound - in the street and on an adjacent sidewalk, he said.
Brandt has offered $1,000 for information leading to the arrest or identification of those responsible, he said. Numerous others also have pledged funds for a reward, he said.
Over the years, Khaos and Kolt had escaped only a couple of times from the Brandt family's Macon Creek home in Victoria, Brandt said. In the past, he would leave the front door open and wait for them to return. They always did.
Brandt, who was doing metalwork near Hallettsville, learned from a neighbor about 10 p.m. May 16 that both dogs were wandering the neighborhood near his Victoria home. On Brandt's recommendation, the neighbor again left the door open and the waiting began.
Brandt said he thinks Khaos and Kolt again jumped the home's backyard privacy fence, which is taller than he is, although he has never witnessed them do it.
Even after receiving a call from police, Brandt was hoping the dogs' deaths were an accident, he said. But after recovering their bodies, he pushed away the possibility.
"It couldn't have been an accident," he said.
Khaos' body was uninjured except for a single, clean gunshot wound in the center of her forehead, Brandt said. Although Kolt's body had scrapes and cuts, another gunshot was found on its back.
"The female had absolutely nothing wrong with her - except the hole in her head," he said.
Brandt was shocked.
"All kinds of emotions run through you," he said. "They have been a part of my family for the past three years."
In fact, both dogs' names begin with the letter "K," which is in keeping with a family tradition, he said.
Brandt bonded with the dogs when he used to bring them along on long stints in the oil field.
"I spent more time with them than my family," he said.
And his 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter grew up with the dogs, he said. They cherished three litters of puppies from Khaos. During those pregnancies, Brandt's son loved to rest his head on Khaos' belly to listen and feel the puppies inside.
While Brandt has said it is possible both dogs' deaths were an accident, he thinks it highly unlikely.
If a vehicle did hit them, he wonders why no indicative wounds were discovered on Khaos' body.
If the dogs did threaten or attack someone, Brandt is willing to take responsibility, but he thinks that too is unlikely.
Brandt, who sometimes works from home, said "hundreds" of customers of many ethnicities and backgrounds played and socialized with the dogs, who never exhibited any signs of aggression.
"They were friendly dogs," he said.
But most convincing for Brandt is the overwhelming social media attention the dogs have gotten since their deaths. He said the story has been shared and reposted enough times on Facebook for the dogs' killer to take notice. Surely, he said, the person responsible would have come forward if the deaths were accidental.
Prosecuting animal cruelty cases is often difficult, especially when juries are involved, said Stephen Tyler, Victoria County district attorney.
"Some people are overly protective, and some are the opposite," he said.
The charge of cruelty to animals can range from a Class A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. Although punishments range from up to a year in jail with a $4,000 fine to the more severe 2 to 10 years in prison with a $10,000 fine, a person with no prior cruelty charges can be probated, he said.
And if the lives of a person or animal are placed in danger by a dog, a person has the right to kill, Tyler said.
Whatever the legal nuances may be, the tragedy and injustice of the dogs' deaths have compelled Brandt to seek those responsible.
Khaos and Kolt rest forever under the soil of Brandt's DeWitt County ranch beneath the shade of an old tree.
"Nothing is going to bring my dogs back," he said.
