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

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

Paul Peavey, 57, was last heard from the night of August 19 and his body was discovered by a search party of community volunteers Saturday around noon, 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 there to his place to check on him and his place was wide open, and the puppy barn was wide open and there were no puppies,” Boynton said. “His house and his place and the whole property was torn apart and anything of value was gone.”

Peavey bred European Doberman pinschers. Four adult dogs were gone temporarily but returned to the house, 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 (was) that a person was endangered, certainly we would have a larger team here, but that was not the information we received,” Sheriff Matthew Harris told CNN affiliate KMGH. Investigators went to Peavey’s property Thursday and found nothing.

“It was reported that many Doberman puppies were missing from Mr. Peavey’s property. The puppies’ whereabouts are part of the ongoing investigation,” sheriff’s office officials said. In a subsequent post, the agency said as many as 10 puppies were missing; Boynton told CNN he thought 13 were gone.

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

“Locating Mr. Peavey’s unaccounted for puppies may also help solve his homicide,” the office said. “Anyone with information is asked to call 303-679-2393, email crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us, 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 taking part in the investigation.

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

“Paul Peavey has been a dog lover since he was 10 years old and has had various dogs since. Committed to training dogs at a young age, Paul has the years of experience needed to breed the best European Dobermans in the state of Colorado,” the website says.

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

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

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