A missing dog was found slaughtered and eaten by villagers, police found.

“We are currently holding three villagers in custody over charges of burglary,” police in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, said Tuesday. “A thorough investigation is needed to determine if the case involved animal abuse.”

Local authorities said that the owner of the Old English Sheepdog reported the dog -- which was one of eight -- missing on Sept. 26.

The report by the owner came after the dog, known as Heart, escaped the house, frightened at the sound of the slamming door.

The owner posted flyers and searched throughout the village the next day, only to return home empty handed.

On the same day, the police report shows, three of the owner’s neighbors, one of them aged 73, allegedly took the injured dog to a village hall and brutally butchered it.

The dog at that time was wounded, or possibly dead, from a car accident before being captured by the dog-meat eaters.

One of the suspects denied that he abused the animal, arguing that “the dog was already dead when I found it on the street.” He added, “I thought it’s better to share it rather than just throw it away.”

The owner called for strong punishment for the culprits, saying that the dog was “more like a family member than a pet.”

“He didn’t look anything like a stray dog,” the owner said. “Even if he was dead in the first place, you should hand him over to the family, not eat it.”

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)