The horrific killing of a police bloodhound, who helped find nine people over the course of his sniffer-dog career, has outraged Italians and sparked a criminal investigation to find his killers.

Bruno, a 7-year-old bloodhound, was found dead Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails.

In a social media post Tuesday, Caressa urged police to "find the killers before I do."

Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said on social media that his slaughter was "vile, cowardly, unacceptable."

Lawmaker Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a longtime animal rights activist, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors under a new law that she helped push through stiffening penalties for anyone who kills or mistreats an animal.

The editor of the Il Giornale daily, Vittorio Feltri, voiced outrage, saying Bruno had done more civic good in Italy than most citizens.

Caressa said he had told prosecutors that he suspected he was the ultimate target of Bruno's killers, and that Bruno was killed "to get to me." He cited his efforts at rescuing dogs that were being used for illegal dogfights, saying he had already received threats for his work. He said he gave police investigators the names of two people who he suspected.

He told local media he received death threats in the weeks leading up to Bruno's death, the BBC reported.

"It wasn't a random gesture. They want me to step aside. But I will never give in. This is a vile attack, done for money and revenge," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

In a tribute to Bruno posted on Facebook, Caressa wrote: "Maybe you're wagging your tail among the stars, or maybe you're watching us in silence, with those kind eyes that said everything without the need for words."

"You weren't just a dog," he added. "You were my faithful shadow, my strength in dark moments, the good heartbeat of the world."

The new animal protection law, known as the Brambilla law, went into effect on July 1 and calls for up to four years in prison and a 60,000-euro (around a $70,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online.

Feltri said the penalty should be even greater than four years, saying animals must be respected "especially when they behave heroically" as Bruno had.

Caressa said that during his career, Bruno found five people alive during rescues and located the bodies of four people who had died, but whose bodies were able to be returned to their loved ones.

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