Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: Baltimore Sun, June 16, 2010

A $3,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the hanging death of a dog at a Philadelphia playground in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
A female, one-year-old, brown, pit-bull mix was found by a Humane Law Enforcement officer hanging from playground equipment at the Barrett Playground, at 8th and Duncannon Sts. in Philadelphia, PA 19120. The time of death is estimated to be in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

An investigation is underway, but the Pennsylvania SPCA needs the public’s help in gathering information about what happened to this dog.

Anyone with information should call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s toll-free, 24-hour cruelty hotline at 866.601.7722.

The initial $1,000 reward was increased after the Humane Society of the United States offered an additional $2,500 in reward money.

The staff here at the Pennsylvania SPCA has named the deceased dog Flora. If you would like to make a donation in her memory, or to find out how you can help other abused and neglected animals, please e-mail development@pspca.org.

Source: kplr11.com, June 15, 2010

The Humane Society of Missouri is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who are responsible for the severe injuries.

The dog, named Desperado by his Humane Society rescuers, had a rusted, dirty chain link collar deeply imbedded around its neck. The gaping wound measured 1 ½” deep and 10″ long circling the dog’s neck. The chain link collar, which had to be cut with a bolt cutter, was only 6″ in diameter. Animal Cruelty Investigators stated the collar should have been at least 10″ in diameter to properly fit a dog of Desperado’s size.

The dog will receive continuing treatment to allow the wound to heal. Humane Society veterinarians are cautiously optimistic the dog will make a full recovery.

Desperado was discovered on the property of a Baden business, his chain tangled in equipment on the property. The owner of the business contacted the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force which brought Desperado to Humane Society of Missouri headquarters in St. Louis City.

TO REPORT INFORMATION IN THIS CASE:

Anyone with information about this crime should contact: Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Abuse Hotline

314-647-4400

Source: Courier-Journal, April 9, 2010

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the severe injuries suffered by a pit bull found in March.

Louisville Metro Police are investigating the case of a blue-gray pit bull found March 8 in an alley in the 1700 block between Garland Avenue and West Kentucky Street.

The pit bull’s lower jaw was displaced and fractured in half. Many of its teeth were also fractured, and there was a quarter-size chunk missing from its tongue.

The dog also had severe hair loss on the legs and chest as well as scratches and puncture wounds on its forearms, which may be a sign it was used in dog fighting, police said. The dog had to be euthanized immediately.

The reward could double if the information leads to a dog fighting conviction, according to a press release from the Humane Society.

A police officer who is investigating called it one of the worse cases of animal abuse she has ever seen.

Anyone with information should call the anonymous tip line at 574-LMPD.

Source: BostonHerald.com, Mar 25, 2010

After a Pekinese died ensnared in its own matted, ungroomed, overgrown fur, authorities are looking for the person who allowed the poor pooch to end up in that deadly state.

The dog was found at the end of a driveway in Waltham, unable to see or move because its coat was so severely matted. Vets say the unlucky dog had not been groomed in more than two years.

“It’s hard to imagine what his life was like,” said Dr. Susan Rosenblatt, chief of staff at Kindness Animal Hospital in Waltham.

“When he arrived, I thought he was dead until I picked him up. He was covered in feces and urine. He died of pneumonia, but that was probably because of the matts. He was breathing in feces and bacteria for years,” Rosenblatt said.

It took a team more than an hour to groom and shave the dog – which the staff named Matt after his condition. His claws had grown so painfully long that they curled and dug into his paws. More than 3 pounds of snarled fur was shaved off the dog. An X-ray revealed an open safety pin stuck in the dog’s coat.

Matt died a few days after he was brought to Kindness.

“It’s a sad ending to a tragic life,” Rosenblatt said.

Waltham Animal Control and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are investigating the apparent abandonment and neglect case.

Animal control officer Ann Campobasso said she is following several leads. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information.

Source; WBZTV.com, Feb 15, 2010

Millions of Americans consider their pets to be part of the family, so when a Queens family lost their dog during last week’s snowstorm, it was a devastating blow.

That was nothing, however, compared to the phone call that came next, demanding a ransom to get their precious pooch returned, CBS station WCBS-TV reports.

The Belmans need their Sugar.

Not another kind of natural sweetener, though – Sugar is their two-year-old bulldog-basset hound mix who’s been missing since Wednesday.

Seven-year-old Leo Belman says things haven’t been the same since she’s been gone.

“I think I love her as much as I love my parents,” Leo says.

The Belmans were out walking Sugar Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park when she got away from young Leo. They suspect she was simply overexcited about playing in the snow for the first time.

She was strong enough to snatch the leash out of Leo’s hands. Not long after that, the family received a phone call.

“I’m out there in Prospect Park, in the driving snow, and it is a whiteout. The phone is freezing, and I answer it, and I hear, ‘we have your dog.’” Leo’s mom, Drucie Belman, says. “I said, ‘is she okay,’ and they said, ‘I have your dog – what are you gonna give me for the dog?’

“I said, ‘I don’t know, $50?’” Drucie says.

That’s right – someone actually dialed the number on Sugar’s dog collar and made a ransom call. After the caller hung up on her, Drucie feared she may have low-balled, the dog-napper with her $50 offer. Whatever the case, the Belmans haven’t heard from the anonymous caller since.

The Belmans are relying on flyers, internet alerts, and the kindness of fellow dog owners. They’ve also decided to postpone their scheduled family vacation to Disney World.

“Right now, the plan is for today, and tomorrow, and for as long as it takes, to do whatever we can to get back Sugar,” Albert Belman says.

The Belmans, for now, are clinging to hope and making a simple, but desperate plea.

“Please, please, please allow us to have our dog back,” Drucie says.

The Belmans are part of a cyber alert system called FIDO which e-mails out the dog’s description and the owners’ phone number.

Source: hcnonline.com, Jan 10, 2010

A can of Alpo and a couple of Twizzler sticks, a farewell present from the children in Gus’ life, mark the spot where the black Labrador retriever is buried in a makeshift grave beneath a pile of rocks. The railroad tracks where Gus’ body was found, intact except for the bullet hole in its side, are within sight, only a few yards away.

About a quarter-mile down the tracks, the skeleton of what could be a medium-sized dog rises up from between the railroad ties. Lynn Haney, of Summerwood, believes the remains belong to Scrappy, her black German shepherd mix who, like Gus, escaped from her garage Dec. 7.

Scrappy’s collar was found nearby, along with her severed head in the ditch.

MENAGERIE OF DEATH