'I was just sick:' Stranger brutally attacks Lacey family's four dogs

LACEY, Wash. - UPDATE: Detectives say a 20-year-old suspect in the dog attacks died in another state. No further details were released. Lacey Police said the case is in the process of being finalized.

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Lacey Police are looking for the man who brutally attacked a family’s four dogs this week, in a seemingly random incident. 

One of the dogs was cut so badly the wound went down to the bone, according to documents from the veterinarian’s office.

For Lynn Jenkins Roberts and Jim Roberts, their dogs are their family.

"I was just sick. I didn’t know what to think. We just rushed home and dropped what we were doing," said Jenkins Roberts.

Monday night, the Roberts got a call from their roommate who said that a man snuck into their backyard and attacked their dogs.

"The scene that we came into was gruesome," said Roberts.

"I hadn’t even seen the dog yet, I saw the blood all over the front porch," said Jenkins Roberts.

The Roberts' roommate said she saw the attack happen. 

Donna Clark said she yelled at the attacker. The man then took off, jumped over a fence and ran into the woods.

"That’s unheard of for somebody to come into your property and beat on your dogs," said Clark.

The Roberts said they found a sheath in their yard a few days after the attack.

The family said three of their dogs were injured. One of them avoided injury by running away, but was missing for four hours.

Three of the dogs are siblings from the same litter. The fourth is the mother.

The Roberts said she is the one who was hurt the most in the attack

"She’s like, sliced open. They said the knife was such a sharp instrument there was no bruising," said Jenkins Roberts. "Carved into so deep it cut into her spine and chipped the bones."

FOX 13 News got a copy of the vet’s report that said, "The wound was extensive and closure was difficult."

All the dogs are back home now, however, the suspect is still out there.

The Roberts said they are sharing their story to prevent any other families from dealing with this nightmare.

"I hope they get caught, so they can get some help because that’s obviously somebody who is disturbed," said Roberts.

Police believe the suspect is a man and at the time of the attack, he wore a maroon hoodie and dark sneakers.

The family said the cost of the surgeries was several thousand dollars. They are raising money through a GoFundMe to help pay for the costs.