SEPT. 17, 2015 UPDATE: Jason Johnson, the suspect in the Riverside County Animal Services shelter break-in, has been arrested.
Some pathetic excuses for human beings have broken into animal shelters in Tennessee and California over the past few days, apparently for the sole purpose of harming and killing dogs.
Intruder Starts a Dog Fight in Tennessee Shelter
Late Thursday night, one or more intruders broke into the Best Friends Sanctuary in Jamestown, Tenn. The loser(s) removed a Pit Bull named Sam from his locked cage and placed him in a cage with a Boxer named Bucky.
Then the intruder(s) encouraged the dogs to fight each other. It must have taken a lot of persuading for Sam. Shelter volunteer Chrissi Colquitt told WBIR Sam is “the sweetest dog you could imagine.”
When she and other shelter staff arrived for work Friday morning, they found Sam and Bucky bloody and covered with puncture wounds. Bucky had to be euthanized. It will take several weeks for Sam to recover from his injuries.
“It’s just sad to see that someone would be that evil and put two dogs to watch it for a show, you know, to put them through that,” Sharon Cravens, president of the shelter, told WBIR.
The Best Friends Sanctuary is a nonprofit run by volunteers. A crowdfunding page that was originally created to raise money for a fence upgrade is now asking for funds for surveillance cameras. As of early Sunday afternoon, about $600 of the $3,000 goal has been raised.
There is currently a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the loser(s) who did this. Anyone with information is asked to call the Jamestown Police Department at 931-879-5871.
3 Dogs Dead, 12 Missing after Southern California Shelter Break-In
“We found blood spatter everywhere,” John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services, told KTLA today, describing the horrific scene this morning at its shelter in Jurupa Valley, Calif.
Staff arrived around 6:30 a.m. to find seven dogs roaming free. Two dogs — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire Terrier mix — were dead.
“Their deaths do not appear to be consistent with bite wounds — in other words, the bigger dogs causing the injuries to the dogs,” Welsh told KTLA.
“There were some blood markings that were about 3 feet off the ground. We don’t know exactly what caused that, but we don’t suspect that an animal jumped into the air and caused that blood splatter.”
Dr. Allan Drusys, Riverside County’s chief veterinarian, will perform necropsies on the two dogs to determine the cause of their deaths.
The Press Enterprise reports that one of the two victims had been brought to the shelter yesterday to be spayed. My heart goes out to that dog’s owner, who has been notified.
A German Shepherd that had been in the shelter was also found dead about a mile away. It had been hit by a car.
Fortunately, this shelter does have security cameras. Surveillance footage shows a man in dark clothing cutting through the locks on the cages. This creep broke into a total of 22 cages, leaving 15 of the locks stacked neatly in a pile.
Welsh told the Press Enterprise the incident was extremely upsetting for Riverside County Animal Services.
“We’re in the business of trying to save lives, we’re in the business of getting animals back to their rightful owners,” he said. “Our team was devastated.”
This afternoon it was announced that two non-profit organizations that work with the shelter — Animal Solutions Konnections (ASK) and Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team (START) — are offering a $20,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to a conviction. To contribute to the reward amount, call ASK at 951-777-5341.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 951-776-1099, or to fill out the Crime Tips form on the department’s website.