Taco

Phoenix police are investigating a startling animal-cruelty case in which a 6-month-old Chihuahua was found cut in half.

The distraught Medina family had to remove photos of their dog "Taco" from the walls of their Phoenix home after the dog's owner, Humberto Medina, made the gruesome discovery.

Medina said the photos are too painful to look at because his last memory of Taco was of the pet torn in two pieces in their backyard.

Medina believes the crime was racially motivated.

"I don't understand why they did (this)," Humberto Medina told MyFOXPhoenix.com. "He was just a little dog. He cannot hurt anybody."