ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — When David McCoy began receiving ransom notes for his missing dog, Sasha, he brushed them off as a scam.

“[The messages] were asking $500 to get my dog back,” he said.

Four of McCoy’s dogs, including Sasha, got out of his yard last month. Sasha was missing for over four weeks. McCoy made multiple social media posts searching for her, and received multiple ransom-like notes in reply.

“I received inboxes about they may know who has my dog & how much was it worth to me to pay for that info,” McCoy wrote on GoFundMe.

McCoy initially ignored the ransom notes, but says he later received a video of Sasha from the kidnapper.

“I acted like I would pay for her if they showed me they had her,” he wrote. “I was sent a video of her looking so scared and the video was deleted which left me in shock my dog was being held for ransom.”

Sasha was one of two dogs found dead on the west side last week, not far from Auburn Street. Both were found in black garbage bags tied closed with blue strings. A necropsy determined Sasha had been stabbed or shot in the head.

“She wasn’t a mean dog… Sasha wouldn’t hurt nobody. We have good memories of her. [That’s] one reason why I didn’t look in that bag,” McCoy said.

McCoy says the experience has made him more protective of his pets, and hopes the perpetrator is found.

“Watch your dogs. Dogs, cats, any of your animals. I just don’t want this to happen to nobody else,” he said.

Winnebago County Animal Services is investigating the case.

CARE for PETS is leading a $5,700 reward for information that leads to an arrest.