Investigators are looking for two people Wednesday after surveillance video captured one of them exit an SUV, place a dog next to a storm drain, and shoot it twice at an industrial area in La Mirada over the weekend.
PETA is offering up to $5,000 for information on the crime, which the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said happened around 12:45 p.m. Sunday near 16450 Phoebe Ave.
Footage from a security camera nearby shows a man getting out of the passenger side of an SUV and placing something on the ground near a gutter.
The video recorded what sounds like two gunshots before the man went back into the vehicle.
The woman behind the wheel then drove south on Phoebe Avenue and turned left on Firestone Boulevard, the Sheriff’s Department said.
A witness subsequently saw a dead dog with gunshot wounds on a dog bed in the gutter, according to officials.
Authorities identified the vehicle involved as a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with black rims, possibly an early 2000s model.
Detective Mark Christiansen described the dog as a 15-year-old terrier mix.
“It’s very disturbing,” Christiansen told KTLA. “I mean, we see a lot of stuff, but this one, this one hit home, especially being a dog person that I am. There’s ways to properly handle old, sick injured dogs, and this isn’t the way to do it.”
Miguel Gonzalez, who works near where the incident happened, said the owners could have just given up the dog.
“I could understand if you don’t want your pet anymore, but that’s certainly not the way to get rid of your pet,” he said.
PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, says it’s putting up as much as $5,000 for anyone who gives investigators details that lead to an arrest and conviction in the case.
“This dog was essentially executed and left to die by a gutter,” Lisa Lange, senior vice president at the nonprofit, said in a statement. “Whoever did this is dangerous and must be held accountable, and PETA urges anyone with information about any aspect of this case to come forward immediately.”
Anyone with information can contact sheriff’s Detective Christiansen at 562-466-5419 or MSChrist@lasd.org.
