Missing mentor dog found dead

A missing German Shepherd rescue mentor dog who was stolen from his owner's home in Castro Valley in unincorporated Alameda County on Sunday, has been found dead. 

According to the Find Murfee Facebook page, Murfee's owner found the Murfee's body on her property Friday morning. They believe whoever took Murfee placed his body there.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Department is investigating what it calls a suspicious animal death. 

Murfee, a 3-year-old black and tan German Shepherd, was believed stolen from his yard near Palomares Road in Castro Valley between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, authorities said.

Authorities said Murfee has helped to mentor hundreds of rescued German Shepherd Dogs to help them learn proper social skills before they moved on to their homes.

Murfee helps teach rescued German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds, many of whom are very under-socialized, how to get along nicely with other dogs and what proper dog-to-dog etiquette is, authorities said.

It's important that dogs learn those skills before moving into their new homes, dog experts said.

Authorities said Murfee's owner, JJ Jacobson, has worked with German Shepherd Rescue since 2002 and has taken in as many as 3,500 German Shepherds to be fostered and successfully placed in new homes.

Murfee was taken into police protective custody after he was being thrown against a wall during a domestic violence disturbance, authorities said.

Because Murfee was so young, animal control officials reached out to Jacobson to care for him while the case went through the court process.

A few months later, the suspect gave up all rights to the puppy, and Jacobson adopted Murfee.

Authorities are trying to raise $10,000 for a reward for Murfee's safe return and $7,000 has been raised so far.

The Go Fund Me page for Murfee is https://www.gofundme.com/reward-for-returning-murfee?utm--source=internal&utm--medium=email&utm--content=cta--button&utm--campaign=upd--n.

Murfee also has his own Facebook page, called Find Murfee, at https://www.facebook.com/lostgsd/.