Domingo Ramirez Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas –
A $5,000 reward has been offered for information in a Kaufman County crime in which a dog was found dead Friday afternoon with its mouth taped shut.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas posted the reward this weekend after the female pit bull mix was discovered deceased in Kaufman County.
The reward is for the arrest and conviction of the person or people who taped the dog’s mouth.
The dog’s body was taken to the SPCA of Texas’ Jan Rees-Jones Animal Care Center in Dallas, where a veterinarian will perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
Kaufman County authorities continued their investigation Sunday.
“We’re still in the very early stages,” said Pat Laney of the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department. “It’s just a horrible crime.”
Authorities provided no other details in the case.
Hot temperatures in North Texas pose a major problem for animals.
“Dogs pant to keep cool,” Maura Davies of the SPCA of Texas said Sunday. “If they can’t do that, it’s certain they would be in critical condition very quickly.”
Authorities could not speculate on why someone would tape a dog’s mouth shut.
“There is a well-documented link between animal cruelty and human violence,” said SPCA of Texas President James Bias in a news release. “Helping the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department bring the person or people who did this to justice will help stop the cycle of abuse.”
The SPCA of Texas points out that animal cruelty is often an early warning sign of violent tendencies that will be acted out against people. Childhood cruelty to animals has been linked to later antisocial and aggressive behavior in several retrospective studies, according to the SPCA.
The Kaufman County case is the second high-profile animal abuse case this month involving the taping of a dog’s mouth.
In Parker County, a dog nicknamed Hope was found in early July with her snout taped shut and her tongue protruding. With her snout wrapped with electrical tape, Hope was unable to drink, eat or pant for more than 24 hours, authorities said.
But Hope survived.
A $35,000 reward has been offered for the arrest and indictment of the suspect or suspects who tortured her.
Authorities said Hope is expected to be at an animal clinic for several weeks before she will be released to the care of her new owners, Charlie and Kit Moncrief, on whose ranch Hope was found.
