THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH
4242 SOUTH 300 WEST
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84107-1415
(801) 261-2919 phone • (801) 261-9577 fax
www.utahhumane.org
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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (February 12, 2008)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt (801) 261-2919 phone
HUMANE SOCIETY INCREASES REWARD TO $3,000
IN EACH OF DOG SHOOTING CASES
As the Utah State Legislature does its best to reduce our animal-protection laws to meaningless slap-on-the-wrist codes, and while at the same time three-quarters of the population are demanding tougher penalties for deliberate cruelty to animals, three more episodes have occurred in rapid succession that would appear to bear out the majority opinion that our statutes are already too weak.
Within a matter of days, the muzzle of a dog named Sadie was slashed with a knife through the fence by a neighbor who has now been arrested, Bert, a yellow lab, was found lying dead in a pool of blood with a bullet lodged in his body, and a 13-week-old puppy – ironically also named Henry — was also shot to death. All three of these animals were killed or injured in the confines of their own yards.
The Humane Society is offering a reward of $3,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each shooting. "People who engage in such behaviors are obviously both sick and angry, and they should not be allowed to get away with what they’ve done because their victims were ‘only dogs,’" says HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt. "Taking pleasure or satisfaction in the mutilation or killing of ANY being less competent than the aggressor to defend itself is indefensible. Those dogs didn’t have knives or guns. They were somebody’s pets, and they had learned to trust people. There was absolutely no excuse for what was done to any of them. And the next time one of these sickos gets upset, he may take it out on a child, a woman, or some other person who is as incapable of protecting him- or herself as those dogs were."
The Humane Society is hoping that the prospect of a reward for information leading to the identification and conviction of the perpetrators will encourage anyone with knowledge of the crime to contact the Humane Society of Utah at 261-2919.
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