Reward of Up to $5,000 Offered for Help Nabbing Dog Poisoner

PETA Joins Search for Culprit(s) Who Threw Tainted Meat Into Backyard

For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2019

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

On March 28, three dogs reportedly ate tainted meat that had been thrown into their Las Vegas backyard and had seizures—and one of them, a 2-year-old shih tzu named Leia, died. A toxicology report apparently revealed that the dogs had consumed strychnine, a highly toxic substance often found in rat poison—and several neighbors have reported finding similarly tainted meat in their yards over the last five years.

Although police are investigating, they have yet to determine who’s poisoning these dogs. That’s why PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty-to-animals charges of the person or persons responsible for this crime. Leia’s guardians are also raising money for an additional reward via GoFundMe.

“This little dog undoubtedly endured agonizing pain and terror as her body began to seize and shut down,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “There may be a serial dog poisoner on the loose, and PETA is calling on anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that this culprit can be held accountable and stopped from hurting anyone else.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—cautions families to keep an eye on animal companions and never leave them unattended when they’re outdoors, where they can be hurt by cruel humans and attacked by other animals.

Anyone with information about this case should call Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.