Teen’s Dog Killing to Prompt PETA Billboard Urging Locals to Help Stop Animal Abuse
For Immediate Release:
March 18, 2025
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
Following reports that an 18-year-old was arrested after allegedly being caught on camera throwing a dog off a bridge twice and killing her, TeachKind—PETA’s humane education division—plans to place a sky-high message in the city calling on residents to help stop youth violence against animals. TeachKind is also rushing humane education materials to Memphis-Shelby County Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond—including “Empathy Now,” a guide to preventing violence by young people—along with an urgent letter stressing the need for humane education that fosters empathy for all living, feeling beings.
According to news reports, the teen—identified as Christopher Triplett—dragged the medium-sized, dark gray or black dog toward a pedestrian bridge, threw her over the side, then retrieved her, dragged her back to the bridge, and threw her over again, ultimately killing her.
TeachKind is also sending the school district its “Challenging Assumptions” curriculum, which helps secondary school students examine discrimination and other social justice issues; its “Share the World” program kit, which includes lessons that aim to foster empathy for animals and are appropriate for even the youngest learners; and anti-bullying posters.
“When a young person does something as cruel and senseless as flinging a terrified dog off a bridge, it sends shockwaves through the community, but horrific incidents like this are completely preventable,” says PETA Vice President Marta Holmberg. “Compassion can be cultivated, and TeachKind urges educators to use our resources to help kids process this atrocity and teach them that violence is never okay, whether the victim is a pup or a peer.”
An epidemic of youth violence is surging throughout the U.S. Sandy Hook Promise includes cruelty to animals on its list of “10 Critical Warning Signs of Violence,” and research shows that approximately 43% of school shooters first committed acts of cruelty against animals—so animal abusers potentially pose a serious threat to communities at large. TeachKind resources are easy to integrate into schools’ existing curricula to help prevent future violence.
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 Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness. TeachKind offers free presentations, lessons, and other resources to help teachers add compassion to their curricula. For more information, please visit TeachKind.org or follow TeachKind on Facebook or Instagram.
