A Colorado dog breeder has been found dead and his Doberman Pinscher puppies are missing

Colorado authorities are conducting a murder investigation after a dog breeder was found dead Saturday and as many as 10 puppies were missing from his property in Clear Creek County, according to the sheriff’s office.

Paul Peavey, 57, was last heard from on the night of Aug. 19 and his body was discovered by a search party of community volunteers around noon Saturday, according to Bruce Boynton, a friend of Peavey’s.

Boynton said Peavey would come to his restaurant twice a day. He told CNN he went to Peavey’s property last Wednesday after another friend said they couldn’t get in touch with Peavey.

“I went up to check on him and his house was wide open and the puppy pen was wide open and there were no puppies,” Boynton said. “His house and his estate and the entire estate were torn apart and everything of value was gone.”

Peavey bred European Doberman Pinschers. Four adult dogs were temporarily missing but returned to the home, Boynton said.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office said a missing person report was filed last Wednesday evening.

“If the situation and the information we learned suggested that an individual was at risk, we would certainly have a larger team here, but that was not the information we received,” Sheriff Matthew Harris told the CNN affiliate KMGH. Investigators went to Peavey’s property Thursday and found nothing.

“It has been reported that many Doberman puppies were missing from Mr. Peavey’s property. The location of the puppies is part of the ongoing investigation,” sheriff’s office officials said. In a later post, the agency said up to ten puppies were missing; Boynton told CNN he believes 13 have disappeared.

The sheriff’s office said Monday that some of the puppies, which are microchipped, may have been sold since last Tuesday.

“Finding Mr. Peavey’s missing puppies could also help solve his murder,” the office said. “Anyone with information is asked to call 303-679-2393, email [email protected] or submit a tip anonymously through our website at https://bit.ly/CCSOCrimeTips.”

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office are also involved in the investigation.

According to law enforcement, Peavey ran a business called Elite European Dobermans. An announcement about a litter of puppies is posted on the company’s website.

“Paul Peavey has been a dog lover since the age of ten and has had various dogs since then. Paul has been committed to training dogs from a young age and has the years of experience necessary to breed the best European Dobermans in the state of Colorado,” the website states.

Boynton told KMGH that Peavey’s dogs were his life.

“He had been through a lot in life and the dogs were his therapy,” Boynton told the Denver-based station.

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