Exam shows young dog was alive when set on fire in Riviera Beach

Riviera Beach, Fla. (January 14, 2013) – In Defense of Animals (IDA), the international animal protection organization that operates Hope Animal Sanctuary in Mississippi, has offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever tethered a young pit bull to a fence, doused him with a flammable liquid and then set him on fire, killing him.

On the evening of Monday, January 7, a neighbor heard a dog crying and saw what she believed to be a grass fire. She called Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue who responded and extinguished the flames, discovering the dead dog. A necropsy revealed that the dog was alive when he was set on fire.

“The cold-bloodedness of this terrible crime indicates what a danger this person is to all of us,” said Eric Phelps, Emergency Response Unit Coordinator for IDA. “Someone knows who did this, and he or she will be serving the entire community by stepping forward.” Phelps added that studies have repeatedly shown, and the FBI and other law enforcement agencies agree, that a person who commits cruelty to animals very often moves on to commit acts of violence against people, especially when the cruelty to animals goes unpunished.

IDA urges anyone with information about this brutal attack to call the organization at 415-448-0048, ext. 228.