In a heartbreaking discovery in Vicksburg, Mississippi at the Lakeland Village subdivision, a 10-month-old French bulldog belonging to Kai Fuson, went missing on April 18. Somehow the dog named Bougie had slipped out of the backyard, or that is what Kai thought had happened.
When Bougie didn’t return to his home after having been left out in the backyard for a short time, the desperate search for the beloved dog commenced. Kai sent out Bougie’s photos on Facebook and other social media hoping that someone had spotted the adorable pooch.
It was at that time that Kai had checked her security camera, hoping to have seen the person who might have taken her dog or where Bougie had wandered off to on his own. There were no clues. And so, the family scoured the back yard looking for something that could lead them to the dog.
According to the Vicksburg Post, “claw marks” -namely alligator claw marks, were found of the bank of the lake.
On April 27, Kai notified the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks to report alligator claw sightings. The next day Bougie’s lifeless body was found next to the bank.
Authorities say this is mating season for alligators, and the smaller gators (8 feet and under) are often pushed out of the Mississippi River by the larger gators, and thus the smaller ones make their way to rivers and ponds. The gator that attacked and killed Bougie had likely been too small to eat the dog.
The family and neighbors are warning residents to be on the lookout for gators and to take particular care that their dogs are always supervised and on leashes.
Rest in peace Bougie.
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