Witnesses needed to help find who set elderly woman’s home on fire and attacked her dog
SACRAMENTO, CA (February 1, 2008) – United Animal Nations (UAN) today pledged a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of whoever set fire to a Sacramento-area woman’s garage on January 30, slashed her dog, Tulip, then left it for dead in the backyard.
Tulip, a small, white dog, was found behind the woman’s home on
bleeding, shaking and barely breathing. The dog was later euthanized due to the severity of its condition.
“Sadly, in cases of violence toward animals people are reluctant to come forward without a financial incentive,” said UAN President and CEO Nicole Forsyth. “We hope that the reward will encourage someone to do the right thing and help local law enforcement catch whoever committed this senseless act of cruelty to a defenseless dog and its loving owner.”
According to fire officials, the 89-year-old grandmother was in the hospital when someone set the fire at her home on
in Natomas just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The blaze was set in a pile of rags and generated only minor smoke damage. Neighbors and relatives reported that the woman’s home had been targeted by arsonists before.
To make an anonymous tip about the fire, call the
To report information specifically about the attack on Tulip the dog, call Officer Pete Alarcon with
“Given the connection between violence toward humans and violence toward animals, our society can no longer take animal cruelty cases lightly,” Forsyth said. “We issue the Zig Zag Memorial Reward to help law enforcement agencies and prosecutors apprehend animal abusers and punish them to the full extent of the law.”
UAN is offering this reward through its Zig Zag Memorial Reward Fund, designed to encourage witnesses to step forward with information about animal cruelty crimes and to advocate the need for harsher punishments in such cases. Research now shows that people who abuse animals are more likely to be violent toward humans.
The Zig Zag Memorial Reward is named for a
In 2007, UAN also launched a humane education and literacy program for children to help address the roots of animal cruelty.
United Animal Nations (UAN) is
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