Tiny Yorkie Beaten, Betrayed, and Left to Die in Virginia Field: PETA Offers $10K Reward for Tips

For Immediate Release:
September 4, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

After losing the only home he’d ever known due to a death in the family, a tiny 6-year-old Yorkie named Rambo was adopted from a Virginia shelter in May, healthy, bright-eyed, and ready to start a new life. Just two months later, he was found tortured and dumped in a Norfolk field, still wearing a little blue collar with pink stripes, with his ribs broken, his pelvis separated, his eyes crusted shut, and so severely traumatized that he panicked whenever he sensed people approaching. Now police are investigating—and PETA is offering a reward of up to $10,000 to find whoever is responsible. Photos of Rambo are available here.

On the evening of Wednesday, July 29, a witness saw a Black woman believed to be in her 30s remove Rambo from a carrier, abandon him in a field near Armistead Avenue and E. 24th Street in Norfolk, and drive away in a white sedan. The witness contacted PETA, and a fieldworker responded to the scene—but the horrific damage done to the little dog was so traumatizing that he could not recover.

Records show Rambo had been surrendered to a local shelter after a family member—presumably his guardian—passed away. At the time of his adoption, he weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces, and had no noted behavioral or physical issues. By late July, Rambo had lost roughly 21% of his body weight and was nearly blind, apparently deaf, and unable to walk without pain, and terrified of human contact. Despite receiving intensive treatment, Rambo’s psychological and physical condition did not improve, and he was euthanized on August 7 on a veterinarian’s recommendation.

A forensic necropsy confirmed that the tiny dog had endured the following:

• Two fractured ribs
• A separated pelvis (when two bones in the pelvis are pulled apart as a result of blunt force trauma), along with severe injuries to his rear legs, which would have caused him to be in excruciating pain
• Extensive bruising and bleeding throughout his legs, side, and groin, consistent with him having suffered significant blunt force trauma
• A painful and deep eye ulcer and blood in the other eye as a result of trauma
• An untreated skin infection

The necropsy findings ruled out the possibility that Rambo had been hit by a car, and indicated that Rambo suffered violent abuse on more than one occasion—his rib fractures no longer showed external bruising, meaning they’d been broken before his pelvis (the region of which was deeply bruised) was injured.

The suspect has not yet been identified—and may have other animals in their possession who are in danger. In a desperate effort to identify the person(s) responsible for torturing Rambo, PETA is plastering the area with billboards and flyers urging anyone with information to contact PETA at 757-962-8338.

“After losing his guardian, his home, and the world as he knew it, Rambo became someone’s punching bag, sustaining repeated abuse and injuries so excruciatingly painful and traumatizing that he could not recover,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Someone knows who hurt and abandoned Rambo, and PETA is pleading with the public to come forward immediately with any information, no matter how small, so that whoever tortured this dog can be held accountable before they harm and kill another living being.”

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.