Dog Abandoned in Freezing Woods Prompts New PETA Video and Up to $5,000 Reward
For Immediate Release:
December 10, 2025
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Following reports that a dog was found chained to a tree and abandoned in the woods of Amsterdam in freezing cold weather, PETA’s new urgent video warning is hitting local airwaves, showing the deadly consequences of shelters chasing the “no-kill” label and refusing to take in animals in need. The gut-wrenching spot highlights a scenario that has become common across the U.S. as animals are being turned away from shelters and calls about stray, suffering, and dying animals are being deliberately ignored, all so shelters can be considered “no-kill” and boast of misleadingly high “live release rates.”
Additionally, PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for abandoning the dog, who officials say would have likely frozen to death had they not been found.
Authorities said that the act appeared deliberate, noting that area shelters claim to be “full.” Elsewhere in New York, a Syracuse resident who found two abandoned dogs drove around for six hours begging the city’s animal shelter and several others in Onondaga County to take the dogs in—yet all of the shelters refused, and reportedly turned away hundreds of other animals last year as residents were abandoning dogs in record numbers.
“‘No-kill’ policies harm communities, leaving the most vulnerable animals suffering and abandoned on the streets,” says PETA Senior Director Moira Colley. “That’s why PETA urges animal shelters to accept all animals in need without fees, waitlists, or other barriers—and everyone can help by always getting their animals spayed or neutered.”
PETA notes that the only way to end the companion animal overpopulation crisis is to stop breeding more animals, which starts with legislative restrictions on breeding and making spay and neuter services affordable and accessible to all.
Authorities are investigating the dog’s abandonment as intentional cruelty to animals under state law—which prohibits leaving an animal without shelter in life-threatening conditions—and seeking to identify the person(s) responsible. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Amsterdam Police Department at (518) 842-1100.
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.
