Morrison County authorities are hoping that somebody has the tip that will lead them to those who fatally shot a dog and dumped it on the side of the road.

The owner of the German shepherd let the dog and other dogs out to use the bathroom on Christmas Eve morning. When the dogs returned to the home in the Cushing, Minn., area south of Motley, one was missing, the Morrison County Sheriff's Office said.

A search for the German shepherd named Sarge turned up nothing, so the owner put a description of the dog on a website that serves as a repository for missing dogs. Shortly after, somebody contacted the owner to report finding a dog matching Sarge's description.

The dog was found in Todd County, about 15 miles away from where it was last seen, the Morrison County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities learned the dog had been shot, its blue collar removed and had been "dumped on the side of the road," the Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook posting.

"I am very heartbroken," the dog's owner said in a post on the Lost Dogs Minnesota Facebook page.

The Sheriff's Office continues to look for suspects. Anybody with information is asked to call the Morrison County Sheriff's Office at 320-632-9233.