Rita Naughton has a pretty good idea who shot her dog.

She just can’t prove it.

As Ms. Naughton left her house in McFall, Mo., for work last Wednesday, her 2-year-old Shar-Pei mix named Lucy escaped from her yard through a hole in the fence. Ms. Naughton knows the town has a leash law, and some residents had threatened her about the dogs she takes in for canine foster care, but she had to get to work. So Lucy ran free. By the time Ms. Naughton returned, Lucy was dead on the porch with a gunshot wound. She had bled to death.

One neighbor heard the shot, yet none of McFall’s 135 residents witnessed the incident. It’s a common occurrence in small towns; everybody knows everybody and nobody saw anything.

Ms. Naughton admits that she broke the local leash law. What makes her mad — other than the loss of a dog — is that the shooter violated another law when they fired a gun in town.

“I shouldn’t have to go through the summer afraid to go outside with my dogs, worried about them getting away and him shooting at them,” Ms. Naughton said. “The other thing is that a stray bullet could hit a kid.”

McFall doesn’t have a police department, so Ms. Naughton filed a report with the Gentry County sheriff. Sheriff Eugene Lupfer said that with no witnesses, the case likely would remain an investigation unless someone came forward with new information.

It is News-Press policy not to release the names of people implicated in crime reports until charges have been filed. However, the man Ms. Naughton suspects did answer questions for the newspaper.

“No sir, I had nothing to do with it,” the man said. “I leave this house at 4 a.m. for work and don’t get home until after 2 p.m.”

The man said Ms. Naughton’s dogs had caused problems in the past, forcing him to replant his garden three times last summer. He claimed that he spoke with Ms. Naughton about the dogs, yet she made no effort to stop them from getting out.

“I threatened to shoot them, sure, but I never did it,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do but put up with it, I guess.”

Ms. Naughton housed five dogs in foster care at the time of the shooting and keeps another as a personal pet. She had Lucy for about six months. After the shooting, Ms. Naughton sent an e-mail to friends and nearby shelters and has found homes for most of the dogs. Fellow dog lovers from Kansas City have even offered to help fix her fence to prevent future dog escapes. Until that happens, Ms. Naughton said she will not bring in any dogs for care. When she does, she hopes her dogs don’t face the same fate as Lucy.

“The thing about animal rescue people is we’re a little crazy,” Ms. Naughton said. “You don’t mess with our animals. That’s like shooting my kid.”

Clinton Thomas can be reached

at clintonthomas@npgco.com.