PLANT CITY, Fla. — Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help after a dog was found abandoned in Plant City with zip ties and electrical wire embedded in her neck.
Hillsborough Animal Control received a phone call last month about a stray dog in a wooded area. Animal Control officers discovered the animal on Henry George Road near Old Hopewell Road in Plant City.
"There were no homes in the area so we weren't able to go out. Animal control wasn't able to go out and ask around to see maybe who knew this animal or where it came from because there just wasn't anybody around," said Chelsea Waldeck with The Pet Resource Center.
The Pet Resource Center renamed the dog Harper. She underwent surgery to remove the ties and wires. She was treated for her injuries as well as heartworms at the Pet Resource Center and has been adopted by a family.
Officials believe she's two years old and may have recently had a litter of puppies.
"Most likely, based on the way the injuries occurred, it looked like it had been tethered somewhere. We don't know if it was tethered at a house or somewhere else, and it was able to break free from that. The zip ties around the neck had been there for quite some time and definitely had been embedded in the skin," said Waldeck.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the unknown suspect(s) involved in this case.
"It is a criminal investigation because it is an animal cruelty case, so if animal control is able to find out who this animal belonged to and why it had these types of injuries, they could definitely press charges after the investigation," said Waldeck.
Unattended tethering of dogs is banned and violations that can result in fines up to $1,000 are enforced by Hillsborough County's Pet Resources.
Anyone with any information regarding the identity of the suspect(s) and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or **TIPS, report anonymously online at www.crimestopperstb.com, or send a mobile tip using the free Florida Crime Stoppers Mobile application. Crime Stoppers must be contacted first in order to be eligible for a cash reward.
