The bizarre incident occurred in Texas earlier this week, an investigation is ongoing

Sep 10, 2014 12:58 GMT  ·  By

There's nothing quite as relaxing and rewarding as playing fetch with your dog in the early hours of the morning, many pooch lovers probably think.

As it turns out, this is not always the case. On the contrary, there is such a thing as a fetch game gone horribly wrong.

A couple in Texas learned this the hard way when their pet dog, a golden Labrador retriever by the name Carly brought home not a stick – or even a dead animal, for that matter – but an actual human skull.

Not your usual fetch game

The police officers in charge of investigating this bizarre occurrence say that the incident took place in Texas, US, earlier this week. Thus, it was on early Monday morning that Carly returned home carrying the skull in its mouth.

By the looks of it, the pooch escaped from the couple's backyard sometime Sunday night. When returning home the following morning, it brought the human remains with it, perhaps hoping its owners would see the skull as a gift and forgive it.

Interestingly enough, this Labrador retriever had several times brought home bones in the past. Still, all the bones that it had came across during its previous expeditions had turned out to belong to dead animals.

The couple, who live not far from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, were terribly spooked by their pet's gift, and immediately alerted authorities. Police officers did not take long to report to their home, and an investigation was launched.

Hoping to find the other remains of the body this skull was once attached to, officers took Carly for a walk around the region. However, the pooch failed to lead them to the place where it found the skull on Sunday night.

Victim's identity not yet revealed

According to The Inquisitr, authorities are yet to establish the identity of the person whose skull the Labrador retriever stumbled upon while enjoying its midnight walk. In fact, they don't even know if the skull used to belong to a man or a woman.

Efforts are now being made to solve this puzzle with the help of dental records for missing people. By the looks of it, the skull is in such poor shape that pinning down the identity of the person who left it behind will likely prove quite a hassle.

Carly's owners have asked that their names not be released to the press, most likely to avoid being approached by nosy reporters. However, it is understood that they are willing to do their best to help the local police solve this peculiar case.