Date
December 8, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps, IDA
(757) 423-0093
Kathy Hecker, Animal Friends
(412) 758-6086
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Reward Money Leads to Arrest of Suspect in Dog Dumping Case
$3600 incentive offered by IDA and others brings witnesses forward
Pittsburgh, Pa.—On a cold October night, an unassuming citizen discovered a live one-year-old pit bull - stabbed multiple times and stuffed into a garbage dumpster left to die - behind a bar in Allentown.
Immediately upon hearing the news, international animal protection organization In Defense of Animals (IDA) offered a $2500 reward for information which would result in the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the heinous act. In the following weeks, the reward grew to $3600.
Surveillance cameras had captured a man dragging the dog down the street that night, in the direction of the dumpster, but no arrests had been made until two witnesses, who were relatives of the suspect, came forward. Their testimony led to the arrest of Reginald “Miami” Coleman, age 18, of Miami, Fla. A preliminary hearing was held on Tuesday, December 6 and Coleman signed a full confession. The man claims he stabbed the dog because he was mad at him. He’s now in a Pittsburgh jail with a $5000 bond. A trial date has not yet been set.
The dog, now named Chance, survived – after recuperating from severe puncture wounds to his neck at the Animal Rescue League shelter – and was recently adopted by a police officer.
“Cruelty to animals is a precursor to violence against humans,” says Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA’s President and Founder. “When people report animal cruelty, they help the police - and the local humane society - protect animals AND people from intensified violence.”
For more information, visit www.idausa.org. Statistics on animal cruelty are available at www.guardiancampaign.com/Violencestats.htm.