Truck May Be Connected To Abused Dogs

Authorities are still looking for those responsible for burning at least five Tulsa dogs.  Hoping to receive more tips, they upped the reward money in the case to $5,000 on Thursday.  The News On 6's Chris Wright reports the two burned dogs that survived are faring much better this week.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office is still determined to find whomever is responsible for the acts of cruelty.

When The News On 6 first met the nine-month old pit bull puppy and a boxer named Winston last week, they were struggling with wounds that run from their heads to their tails.

Authorities say someone poured an acidic accelerant on the dogs, may have set them on fire, and then dumped them in north Tulsa.

Since then, Winston has been adopted by Boxer Rescue, and the pit bull has been named Pepe.

"He's doing really good.  He's really a happy, loving pup.  He is just a big boy and he's a loving dog," said Jamie Soderstrom with the Humane Society of Tulsa.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says it's intent on catching whomever is responsible for burning Winston and Pepe, as well as three other dogs that had to be euthanized.  Detectives believe the acts of cruelty are connected because the animals were all found within several miles of 46th Street North and Lewis.

On Thursday, the reward for a tip that leads to an arrest was increased to $5,000.

"We are seriously looking at finding these people that are doing this because this is unjust and something we're not going to tolerate," said Tulsa County Sheriff's Detective Bobbie Harris.

"We have found that there is a direct correlation between those who abuse animals, and people who commit crimes, so we believe this is a precursor to some additional crimes," said Tulsa County Sheriff's Sgt. Willie Lewis.

The Humane Society of Tulsa says that Pepe is so young that he'll be scarred physically, but not emotionally, and will even be available for adoption in a few weeks.

"He's not fearful of people or anything like that.  He's just a puppy, and that's all he knows which is really fortunate in his case that he won't have that traumatic experience to remember," said Jamie Soderstrom with the Humane Society of Tulsa.

Anyone with information about the attacks is urged to call Crimestoppers at 596-COPS.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office is looking for a red, 80's model pickup.  It believes the person or people who burned the dogs may have been driving.

Anyone interested in adopting Pepe can call the Humane Society of Tulsa at 250-3647.

Related Story:

07/17/2007 - Search Is On For Animal Abusers