NUCLA, Colo. — Wildfire investigators looking for the cause of blaze in western Colorado last month discovered the partially burned remains of a dog — leading to the conclusion that a man’s attempted cremation of his pet sparked a fire that damaged private property including a cabin.
His dog, named Rocket, had been in a fight with another dog and was euthanized under court in Nucla, a town on Colorado’s western border with Utah, according to the arrest affidavit.
The suspect lived in a camper near where the fire started, and his pet’s cremation got out of control when a spray can he threw into the blaze blew and lit a tree on fire, according to court records. Minutes after the fire was reported, law enforcement witnessed the man driving an ATV away from the blaze. It was first reported by the Montrose Daily Press.
At the site, etched on a large rock above Rocket’s remains, was written dates and “Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy,” according to an arrest affidavit. A bone was glued below the epitaph.