Dead Puppies Found in Cooler; PETA Offers to Fund Forensics, Adds $5,000 Reward
For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2025
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
After two puppies were found dead in a cooler left on Underwood Road last Wednesday, PETA is offering to pay for forensics—including fingerprinting of evidence and other investigative measures authorities may find useful—to help find the perpetrator(s). PETA is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction on cruelty-to-animals charges of the person(s) responsible for the deaths and dumping of the puppies, if an act of cruelty took place.
According to reports, the puppies were pit bulls, approximately four months old, with white and dark gray markings. They were found in a blue and white cooler near an open field on the side of Underwood Road at around noon on Wednesday. Authorities believe they were left there between 8:30 a.m. and noon that day.
The suspect has not been identified and may have other animals in their possession—and animal abusers are often repeat offenders who represent a threat to the entire community. Anyone with information related to this case should contact Vestal Dog Control at 607-427-9291.
“These helpless puppies were dumped on the side of the road like trash, and there’s no telling what horrors they suffered before they died,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is offering to pay for forensics to help catch anyone who treated them cruelly, resulting in their deaths, before that person commits any other crime, and is offering a reward to anyone with information to come forward immediately.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
