Family visiting North Carolina loses dog at store, leading to tragic end, cops say

A Michigan family’s newly acquired dog escaped as they visited a store in North Carolina, leading to the pet being killed, police say.

The dog, named Grace, is believed to have died in traffic, Asheboro police told McClatchy News.

“Around 2:30 pm on Nov 8, a blue/tan female American Bully named Grace got loose from her owner at the Pet Barn on W. Salisbury St,” police said in a Nov. 9 Facebook post. “She slipped out of her collar and took off towards N. Cherry St.”

Grace’s fate was revealed when someone reported a dog fitting that description was dead along Interstate 73 at the Salisbury Street exit, Assistant Police Chief Jay Hanson told McClatchy News. The interstate is about two blocks west of the store.

The carcass was retrieved by the city’s sanitation department, and the owner was notified, Hanson said.

“The owner runs a bully rescue in Michigan and had just gotten the dog an hour earlier, heading back to Michigan. He stopped to get a water bowl, and the dog slipped its collar and ran off,” Hanson said.

“As for the cause of death, I can only assume it had been struck by a vehicle.”

Asheboro is about an 85-mile drive northeast from Charlotte.

This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Family visiting North Carolina loses dog at store, leading to tragic end, cops say."