A decorated Italian sniffer dog has died after eating sausages laced with nails. His death prompted national outrage and condemnation from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, had been recognised for his work locating missing and vulnerable people, including those with Alzheimer’s. His efforts helped save at least nine lives during his service.
His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, found him dead last week in his kennel near Taranto, in the southern region of Puglia. Caressa said sausages stuffed with nails had been deliberately thrown into the enclosure. Bruno died of internal bleeding.
“Today I died with you,” Caressa wrote in a Facebook post announcing Bruno’s death. “You fought for your whole life to help human beings, and it was humans who did this to you.”
Prime Minister Meloni, who had previously honoured Bruno for his life-saving work, called the killing “vile, cowardly, unacceptable” in a statement on X. “Thank you for all you have done, Bruno,” she added.
Animal rights campaigner and Italian lawmaker Michela Vittoria Brambilla also condemned the act, calling for justice. She suggested Bruno may have been targeted in a revenge attack by criminal groups dismantled through his trainer’s work.
Brambilla, who has championed tougher animal protection laws, said those responsible should face the full weight of the law. In Italy, killing an animal can lead to up to four years in prison and a fine of €60,000.
She described Bruno’s death as “horrible, long and very painful” and said the cruelty shown was a shame on humanity.
“The culprit must be identified and the punishment prescribed by law should be applied. We owe it to this noble animal,” she wrote.
Police have launched an investigation.
