PETA Adds Up to $5,000 Reward in Starved Yorkie-Dumping Case

For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2023

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

PETA is adding a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for abandoning a malnourished Yorkie mix with missing hair and blackened, crusty skin in a crate near Mayflower Dog Park. A photo of the dog is available here. (Warning: graphic image)

According to the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) and Crime Stoppers—which is offering its own $1,000 reward—the emaciated 7-year-old dog, Champ, was found in the early morning of March 28 with a navy blue “Hollister California” blanket after an “extremely cold” night. Despite a week-long effort by the SDHS veterinary team to nurse him back to health, it was determined that he could not be saved and had to be euthanized.

Authorities are investigating this as a felony cruelty-to-animals case, and PETA is asking for the public’s help to solve it. 

“It’s distressing to think of how long and intensely this little dog suffered from hunger and horrific, painful crusted skin before he was dumped for dead,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “If there are any other dogs in the culprit’s custody, they’re likely in danger, and PETA is urging anyone who might know something about this case to come forward immediately.”

Tipsters should call 888-580-8477 or visit Crime Stoppers at sdcrimestoppers.org.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.