Edmonds police are investigating the stabbing death of a dog in Edmonds’ Lake Ballinger neighborhood Friday night.

According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley, the owners said at around 10 p.m. Friday night, they let the dog out in their yard, which borders the Interurban trail right-of-way in the 23700 block of 74th Avenue West, just a block from Lake Ballinger.

The neighbors tried calling for the dog — described by police as a small poodle — to come in but got no response. They found the animal’s body about 30 minutes later in the yard, The dog had been stabbed and some of its fur had been cut off, Hawley said.

Owners took the deceased animal to a veterinarian to determine the cause of death, and “the vet’s initial assessment was that it was probably not [caused by] an animal,” Hawley said. After returning home, the dog’s owners then called police.

Hawley said that police took possession of the dog’s body, and that Edmonds animal control will investigate the death. A veterinarian will perform a necropsy to determine details of the dog’s injuries.

No one reported hearing anything and there are no suspects, Hawley said, adding that police have received no reports of similar incidents in the area.