$5K reward offered in case of puppy left to die in Bath

BATH TWP. – Anyone who knows who abandoned a puppy to freeze to death at the Rose Lake State Wildlife Research Area could be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000 from the Humane Society of the United States.

According to the Humane Society, on Jan. 25, a Lansing-area family and their dogs visited Rose Lake for a hike. Arriving in the parking lot, the young daughter ran to investigate a dog crate nearby and found a small pit bull-type puppy lying outside of it, dead, frozen and covered in feces. It appeared someone had already opened the door of the crate to let out the puppy, but he had succumbed to recent freezing temperatures.

Michigan's animal cruelty statute prohibits a person from abandoning an animal or causing an animal to be abandoned in any place without making provisions for the animal's adequate care.

"A person who would deliberately leave this small, defenseless puppy to suffer and die in these painfully cold temperatures is a danger to the community at large," Jill Fritz, Michigan senior state director for The HSUS, said in a press release.

"We are hopeful that this reward will bring forward anyone with information and help investigators find the person responsible for this heinous crime."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bath Township police at 641-6271.