On March 23, two dogs of the Cooke family went missing, 2-year-old Oakley and 10-month-old Sasha.

Victoria Cooke had raised Sasha, a purebred blue pit bull, and felt devastated when Sasha went missing.

“We have a lot of land and they were last seen running off toward a pasture,” Cooke said. “We never saw anyone else come on our property but they don’t run off. They stay on our land and don’t run off into the road. They would never do that.”

Her search became more troubling when she found that many more dogs were missing from the region and owners fear their pets have fallen victim to dog-fighting rings.

Cooke asked for help through Facebook to find the missing dogs, and a friend recommended that she share the post to the Lost and Found Pets page in the area.

“I knew that dog abduction was a problem and I was afraid of it,” Cooke said. “But, in the group, just on March 23 there were four dogs taken on that day of similar breeds.”

Cooke and others wondered if their dogs, mostly a mixture of pit bulls and Labrador retrievers, were targeted and stolen from their yards to be used in dog-fighting rings. On Long Creek Road, near where she lives in the Causeyville area, she found that seven dogs were missing and 24 total dogs were missing from around the region that week alone.

In the Facebook group ‘Lost and Found Pets of Meridian, Lauderdale Co and surrounding Counties,MS,’ residents from the area have posted dozens of times in the two weeks about dogs missing. Cooke and others post questions and theories, sharing their photos of missing four-legged pets, both big and small, stretching from Little Rock, Mississippi to Toomsuba to Causeyville.

Some reports include suspicious men with cages, women with mini vans full of “rescued” dogs, muzzled dogs in rusty trucks and numerous missing dogs whose owners plead for their return. At least three cats have been reported missing, too.

“You don’t see anybody with a wire muzzle around here,” Cooke said about the men and a muzzled dog.

Jessica Dawn Thomas has joined Cooke on the page, also vocalizing the concerns of dog owners in the county after three of her own dogs went missing in a three-month span, one in January, one on Feb. 26 and one on March 18.

“It’s more than one family missing their dogs or cats,” Thomas said via Facebook message. “Amy Fulton and I have been investigating every (lead we) get. We have seen animal bones at the old dumpsite on Bunk Newell Road and another spot I cannot mention. These people are cruel and heartless.”

Thomas urged people to call Crimestoppers with tips, even encouraging people to message her directly if they didn’t feel safe contacting law enforcement.

“I’m willing to help and find these monsters. This has been going on (for) months (and) now it’s getting worse,” Thomas said. “I have been monitoring the Facebook groups trying to keep up with everyone posting information and missing dogs. I urge people, if you know anything, to come forward.”

Cooke received messages from two separate women about two men in a red truck taking dogs, with screenshots of the messages posted in the group. One woman observed the men with the dog in a wire muzzle, the other heard the same men discussing dog fighting rings.

The Meridian Police Department said Friday it didn’t have reports of dogs missing while the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department said the issue was under investigation. The local rescue shelters actively post on the group page, helping reunite owners and dogs in a few circumstances.

Still, residents worry that their dogs are being stolen and forced to fight in illegal dog fighting rings.

“I had a friend who said she watched a man try to pull her dog through the fence. They try to make it look like the animals are escaping,” Cooke said.

While Cooke said she encourages others not to give up hope, she tries to come to terms with the chance that she may never see her beloved Sasha again.

“I really hope it stops. And I really hope that people take it seriously because its barbaric and cruel,” Cooke said. “But I don’t want anybody else to experience this, having their dogs used for such a cruel reason.”

Cooke encouraged others to reach out to the group and report missing animals online so others can share it.

“If people let this go and don’t do anything these men are going to keep taking dogs,” Cooke said. “If everybody comes together maybe we can get enough evidence to find them.”

If you have any information about the missing dogs, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously at (855) 485-8417.