The dog was found floating in a dam near Williamson’s Track, with a large rock tied to its lead, earlier this month.

Senior Constable Ian Kuster, of Castlemaine police, said the case had generated a huge outcry.

“A lot of people have rung up offering money for a reward. We have had about 10 calls a day for the past few days,” he said. “People are certainly disgusted and horrified by it.”

Senior Constable Kuster said police would not yet offer a reward and said the investigation would be carried out by the RSPCA.

He said the dog wasn’t microchipped, which made it difficult to track down the owner.

“We’re hopeful someone will come forward with some information,” he said. 

“People might recognise the dog or report that their dog is missing.” 

“Everyone’s talking about it around town.” Castlemaine police, RSPCA and Mount Alexander Shire are continuing to investigate the matter, with forensic tests being conducted on the dog.

Bendigo RSPCA inspector Amy Benham said it was an “appalling act of animal cruelty”.

Ms Benham said the RSPCA currently had no way of identifying who the tan and cream-coloured Shih tzu dog with a bright-red lead belonged to.

She said the investigation was hoping to get hairs from the dog that could be used to track down the owner.

“We’re also hoping someone has seen the dog around or that they saw something suspicious,” Ms Benham said.

The dog was discovered by a man who was walking his dog on the walking track.

When he retrieved the dog from the water, he found it had a large rock tied to its lead that had weighed it down and drowned it in the water.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Mount Alexander Shire Local Laws team on 5471 1700 or Castlemaine police on 5472 2099.