Police Investigate Case of Small Dog Set on Fire, Calls for Public Help

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
July 9, 2019US News
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Police Investigate Case of Small Dog Set on Fire, Calls for Public Help
File image of a dog resting on a porch. (Emma Codd/Pixabay )

Police are investigating a case of animal cruelty where a small dog was set on fire in West Haven on July 5, according to multiple reports.

Fox 61 reported that police were called on the morning of July 5 to the area of Breach Street, near Third Avenue and Second Avenue, when someone noticed an uncontrolled fire in the Sandy Point Beach parking lot. The New Haven Police and Fire department arrived on scene to extinguish the flames and determined the source of the fire—a small dead dog. According to the news outlet, the dead dog was described to possibly be of a Miniature Schnauzer breed, with cropped ears and a cropped tail.

Joseph Perno, the chief of police, said that he could not believe someone could do such a thing to a small animal that may not be wanted anymore, according to Hew Haven Register.

“Who does that?” said Jim O’Brien, the West Haven Fire Department Chief. “Anybody that does something like that to an animal, it’s sick. I can’t imagine who would want to do that to a defenseless animal.”

O’Brien said that he hoped the person who set the small dog on fire would be caught because “they obviously need help.” The New Haven Fire Department Marshall Keith Flood called this “a really horrific crime.”

The evidence suggested that the dog was set on fire and left at the scene of the crime, and investigations led police to believe that an accelerant was used when lighting the animal on fire, WFSB reported. Flood said that they will be waiting on the necropsy to figure out more information, New Haven Register reported. However, police have very little to go on and are asking for help from local citizens.

“We’re asking anybody who could possibly have seen anything, or anyone in the neighborhood who might have a video camera [to come forward],” Perno said.

According to both news outlets, the West Haven Police Department is asking citizens to report seeing any suspicious person or activity that might have taken place in the area between 10 p.m. on July 4 and 1 a.m. on July 5.

Dog Tied to a Pole and Set on Fire

A dog that was tied to a pole and set on fire at a Virginia park on Feb. 10 died on Friday, Feb. 15.

“I’m so very sorry to share that Tommie just passed away. He had just finished having his bandages changed and stopped breathing; his body simply gave out. Tommie was pain-free and surrounded by people that loved him when he passed,” the Richmond Animal Care and Control announced on Facebook.

“Needless to say, we are all devastated and angry and sad and terribly disappointed.”

The pit bull was found at 7:30 p.m. at Abner Clary Park “covered in accelerant and intentionally set on fire,” the animal control said on Monday.

The fire left burns over 40 percent of the dog’s body. After the flames were doused, he was rushed to the Virginia Veterinary Centers.

“I have to say that we don’t get rattled by much at RACC, and have witnessed many ugly cases, but this one makes us want to just sit on the floor and cry,” animal control said.

Over the next several days, animal control gave people updates on Tommie’s condition, noting that donations were pouring in and there was enough to cover the dog’s medical bill.

In the last update, authorities said that the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for tying the dog up and setting fire to him has risen to $25,000. This increase was a result of individual donations and pledges from The Humane Society of the United States, the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals, and the Humane Rescue Alliance.

NTD staff writer Zack Stieber contributed to this article.

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