Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, 662-809-4483

Images (WARNING – GRAPHIC): http://bit.ly/JusticeforThursday

Jackson, MS (December 19, 2016) – In Defense of Animals, the international animal protection organization that operates Hope Animal Sanctuary in Grenada, Mississippi, and founder of Winona, Mississippi based Justice for Animals Campaign is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for bashing a puppy so badly that her eye popped out and lower jaw came off.

“It is mind blowing that someone could intentionally cause such severe harm to an innocent and loving young pup, particularly in the season of peace on Earth”, said In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals campaign Director Doll Stanley. “Whoever did this is deranged, unstable, and poses a significant threat to the entire community. We urge anyone with any information to come forward immediately.”

On Thursday December 15, 2016, Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi (ARFM) contacted In Defense of Animals – Justice for Animals Campaign to seek help with a breaking case of aggravated animal cruelty, a misdemeanor offense in the State of Mississippi.

ARFM Director Elizabeth Jackson shared photos with In Defense of Animals of a young female dog with severe head trauma. The man who delivered her the juvenile dog to ARFM said he discovered the dog that morning in the region of Old Canton Road and Pear Orchard Road in Jackson, Mississippi.

The dog, named Thursday by Jackson, was taken to a local veterinarian who determined that the dog sustained blunt trauma to the head and that the injuries, including a missing lower jaw that did not appear to be the result of a vehicular strike. The injuries were consistent with those that would likely be sustained from a bashing with a baseball bat, or other smooth heavy object.

Thursday was humanely euthanized as she was beyond recovery, having sustained head crushing blows that could not be treated.

In Defense of Animals is dealing with two other cases of egregious animal cruelty in Mississippi that have surfaced over the past week. The first concerns a Gulfport man who was arrested for allegedly beating his dog, first with his fist and then with a flashlight in front of his grandson. The incident was captured on a surveillance video and went viral when shared on Facebook. A second incident of aggravated animal cruelty was captured on a cell phone and shows two young men dousing a trapped cat with two pots of boiling water. The woman who took the video said she let the cat loose and it was fine. The cat was later found dead, and a necropsy confirmed the cat died of thermal injuries.

“Authorities and the public needs to take these horrifying incidents as seriously as the pain and injury these helpless victims endured. Perpetrators of heinous crimes to animals are ruthlessly violent and find their victims among the weak. Their pleasure in the suffering of others knows no boundaries, and we must all act now to protect future victims and seek justice for the innocent victims”, added Stanley.

Animal advocates are supporting a bill proposed by Senator Angela Hill that would make aggravated cruelty to animals a first offense felony, as it is in Arkansas and Louisiana. The Mississippi Farm Bureau has fought efforts to strengthen Mississippi animal cruelty statutes and killed a bill in the 2016 legislative session that would have given protection to abused companion animals.

In Defense of Animals is asking anyone with information pertaining to this case to please contact the Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance: 601-960-1217, or In Defense of Animals’ Doll Stanley: 662-809-4483.

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In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals campaign is actively working with officials in communities, building a groundswell of support for establishing and amending city and county ordinances as part of its campaign to show state lawmakers that Mississippians will not tolerate animal cruelty.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of protecting animals’ rights, welfare and habitats through education, campaigns and hands on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississip