$2,500 reward offered in case of puppies abandoned in Tacoma

Animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering up to a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever tied 11 pit bull puppies and their mother in bags and dumped them in a Tacoma alley.

Two of the newborn puppies, later named Pacific and Belle, survived. The others were dead before an animal control officer responded April 23.

Police believe the 1-year-old mother pup died shortly after having the litter and its owner dumped all the dogs in the alley. The puppies were double-bagged in one bag; the mother was double-bagged in another.

The pit bulls likely were there for hours before a man out for his daily walk saw them and called 911. The surviving puppies had critically low body temperatures.

“Condemning a litter of newborn puppies to a slow, agonizing death inside a plastic bag shows a blatant disregard for others’ suffering,” PETA senior director Martin Mersereau said.

Pacific and Belle were placed with a foster family by the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County. They are showing signs of improvement by eating regularly and moving about.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 2:35 PM with the headline "$2,500 reward offered in case of puppies abandoned in Tacoma."