$5,000 Reward Offered for Help Nabbing Woman Who Punched Dog On-Camera

PETA Seeks Public’s Help in Identifying Dog Abuser

For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

On March 11, eyewitnesses filmed a woman walking along Willa Way in unincorporated Decatur as she punched a small black dog, whom she was carrying by the neck. Witnesses report that the woman, believed to be 20 to 25 years old, hit the dog with a stick before she began to repeatedly punch the animal.

The DeKalb County Police Department has yet to identify the woman in the video or locate the dog, prompting PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—to offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

“If this woman was disturbed and violent enough to punch a helpless dog in front of eyewitnesses, it’s frightening to imagine what she might do behind closed doors,” says PETA Director Stephanie Bell. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this woman to come forward now so that she can be prevented from hurting this dog again.”

According to law-enforcement agencies and leading mental-health professionals, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to all animals—including humans.

Anyone with information about this case should call the DeKalb County Police Department at 678-406-7929.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.