Residents of Zacatecas, Mexico, saw a dog running along the streets of the violent state with a human head in its mouth.
Local officials said that police were eventually able to remove the head from its jaws.
The head and other body parts were discovered on Wednesday in an ATM in the hamlet of Monte Escobedo, according to a law enforcement officer.
The remains were left next to a note that mentioned a narcotics cartel. The stray dog seized the severed head and ran off before authorities could secure the area.
Social media videos depict the dog holding the head by the neck as it runs down a street at night.
Bloody, protracted turf warfare between local gangs funded by the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels has occurred in Zacatecas.
As a measure of intimidation against rivals or authorities, the Mexican drug gangs frequently place notes close to decapitated human bodies.