The death of a family pet south of Troy was determined to be the result of an attack by another dog, rather than a gunshot wound, authorities say.

When Michelle Colaianni first found Tiny Girl dead Feb. 23 in the half-acre kennel she was sharing temporarily with six other dogs, the nature of the wounds led her to believe the dog had been killed with a shotgun.

On closer examination, a veterinarian determined that what the family thought were wounds from individual pellets were actually deep punctures from the teeth of the attacking dog, said Tiny Girl’s owner, Ashley Denton.

At the time they found Tiny Girl, Denton said the family did not find any signs of blood on other dogs in the kennel, reinforcing their belief it was an outside attacker.

The offending animal killed another dog it shared a kennel with on March 4, Denton said.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies, accompanied by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told Denton they believed another dog was responsible, she said.

“The deputies did a great job investigating this incident,” Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said. “They were able to determine that the dogs were not shot and the attack came from another animal.”

The offending dog was scheduled to be put down March 6.

Denton said the family experienced some relief to know that a person had not come onto their property and shot their dog, but are still dealing with the loss of three family pets, including the dog that had to be put down.