The Humane Society of the US is offering $5,000.
Hagerstown, Md (KM) The investigation continues into the abuse of a six- to seven-week-old puppy who was found abandoned last week in Hagerstown. The Humane Society of the United States is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction from this case.
Emily Hovermale, the Maryland Director of the Humane Society of the US, says this increased amount is an encouragement for someone to come forward with information. “It does incentivize people coming forward who maybe wouldn’t otherwise wouldn’t get involved. If it’s someone they know or they’re friendly with, they wouldn’t normally get involved,” she said. “But when you can offer a substantial amount of money, you increase the chance someone will come forward.”
This amount is on top of the reward being offered by the Humane Society of Washington County, which has increased the amount of its reward from $00 to $2,950. Hovermale says this increased amount comes from donors who are disgusted with the way this puppy was treated.
Last week, a field services officer of the Humane Society of Washington County responded to a tree line behind the Target store at 17213 Cole Road Hagerstown, where a citizen found a puppy in distress, wrapped in a blanket and abandoned. The officer said the dog, since named Hope, was fighting for her life, and was emaciated and barely moving. The puppy was also covered with fly eggs, which were in her nostrils and around her mouth.
The dog was rushed to Mountain View Emergency Vet where the diagnosis was starvation and parasites. She was sent Humane Society’s Veterinary Center for further care. Hovermale says Hope is making progress, but still needs care 24-hours a day.
Hovermale says animal cruelty cases are taken very seriously by police and prosecutors.who will press charges. “And I think part of the reason a lot of people do take animal cruelty seriously these days is there is an increased awareness between animal abuse and interpersonal violence,” she says.
Further, Hovermale further says this link is also connected with domestic violence. “Research has been well documented on that fact that pet abuse is one of the primary predictors of domestic partner violence, that a large percentage–over 70% of women who enter domestic violence shelters–report that their partners were also abused or killed their family pet,” she says.
Anyone who has information on this incident is asked to call the Humane Society of Washington County at 301-733-2060, extension 203.
By Kevin McManus
Hope