DENVER — PETA is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for duct taping an 8-month-old German shepherd’s mouth shut and paws together.
It happened on July 11, when good Samaritans found the dog near South Platter River Drive and Huron Street, scared and soaking wet.
“I didn’t know if it was real because the dog wasn’t moving,” said Carl Allen, who first spotted the dog while driving with a friend.
Unfortunately what they saw was real.
“From the moment I got out of the car and seen what I was looking at was real, my heart was beating, I almost shed a tear,” Allen said.
The dog, who is believed to be an 8-month old female, tried to run away from the group of good Samaritans that were trying to help.
“It was terrified, very terrified,” Allen said. “It’s tail was tucked and it started urinating on itself. Once we started petting it, it started calming down a little bit. I could only imagine what it was going through.”
While the dog is now recovering at Denver Animal Shelter, Animal Protection Officer Sgt. Stephen Romero said said the main goal now is to find who is responsible for mistreating the animal.
“It’s disgusting that people would do that to their dog, or to any dog. They should have to answer for those actions that they do.”
Carl also would like to see this story come full circle.
“From seeing the condition that it was in, to you guys saying that it is perfectly fine now it brings joy to me,” Allen said. “But what would make me more happy is the person that did that get caught.”
PETA was prompted to offer the $2,500 reward after law-enforcement officials have yet to make any arrests in connection with the case.
“It takes having a dangerous lack of empathy for others’ suffering to wrap tape around a terrified dog’s mouth and paws and leave her for dead,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately, before anyone else is hurt.”
Animal cruelty and abandonment chargers are possible if the person responsible is caught.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Denver Animal Shelter at 720-913-1311.