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The MSPCA-Angell’s Law Enforcement Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the death of a Chihuahua found abandoned in a carrier outside an animal shelter in Brockton, Massachusetts.
A tiny 1-year old, 10-pound Chihuahua was found barely clinging to life Tuesday morning, trapped inside a crate and dumped outside of the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts in Brockton.
Despite attempts to save her, the young dog died shortly after being found. Now, authorities want to find the person responsible and hold them accountable for her death. The MSPCA is offering $1,000 in hopes that someone will step forward with information.
The dog was trapped, unconscious and foaming at the mouth when Joyce Caranci, manager of the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, found the carrier about halfway up the property’s driveway in sweltering 90-degree temperatures.
“When I found her, she was already unconscious and foaming at the mouth, but she was breathing faintly and I felt a heartbeat, so I immediately brought her to the Lloyd Animal Medical Center in Stoughton, but she died on the way,” Caranci told Boston.com.
The dog’s last recorded body temperature was 110-degrees – the highest possible reading on the thermometer and about 8-degrees higher than normal. Alone, scared, and trapped inside a plastic kennel dumped within steps of an animal shelter, the otherwise healthy dog had suffered an unimaginable – and completely avoidable – death.
The dog was a 10-pound mostly white and brown Chihuahua. She was approximately a year and a half old, wore no tags, and was not microchipped. The plastic carrier she was in is tan on top and dark gray on the bottom, but didn’t have any labels or identification that could lead investigators to the person responsible.
“This is a shocking instance of animal cruelty in which a young dog suffered an agonizing and totally preventable death — and we’re asking for the public’s help in bringing whoever is responsible for this to justice,” MSPCA law enforcement officer Nadya Branca said in a statement.
The agency is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. Anyone with information is urged to call the MSPCA’s Law Enforcement tip line at 800-628-5808.
Animal cruelty is a felony crime in Massachusetts that carries a sentence up to seven years in state prison with a fine up to $5,000.
At this time, investigators have no leads or suspects.
