A $16,000 reward has not led to the arrest of a suspect in the torture and death of a dog found bound and burned on Jan. 11, north of Springfield near Fellows Lake.
“We continue to receive tips from the public — which the detectives are looking into — but still no suspect,” said Deputy Derek James, spokesman for the the Greene County Sheriff's office, on March 5.
Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott held a press conference Jan. 18 to focus on the cruelty of whoever set fire to the dog and to highlight the reward in an effort to find who did it.
The $16,000 was donated by people who read about the case and were outraged. The reward is for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.
“This is an alarming case, because this dog was not only dropped off here, but was bound. So it couldn’t get away from the fire,” Arnott said at the January press conference.
“This community does not accept animal abuse and animal cruelty, and the residents of Greene County want some answers,” Arnott said.
He added that the main clue as to who the dog's owner might have been is the fact that the dog, which died the day it was found injured, had unusual eyes. One was blue and the other was half-blue and half-brown.
The Greene County Sheriff’s office tip line number is (417) 829-6230. The information can be provided anonymously. Information can also be provided by going to the sheriff’s office website and clicking the tab that says “submit a tip online.”
A female blue-heeler mix about 1 year old
A driver spotted the injured female dog along the 3500 block of North Farm Road 197 the morning of Jan. 11.
Although it had been bound with zip-ties, the dog — a blue-heeler mix about 1 year of age — dragged itself from a place on the grass where it had been set on fire. A photo shown at the press conference depicted the burned patch of grass where the dog had been.
The driver who found the injured animal took it to the Fair Grove Veterinary Clinic. Greene County deputies went to the clinic at 10 a.m., and 45 minutes later were at the scene where the dog was burned.
The dog died from its injuries at 8 p.m. that day.
One likely charge would be a Class E felony under Missouri law — animal abuse with suffering as a result of torture and mutilation consciously inflicted while the animal is still alive. A Class E felony is punishable buy up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine upon conviction.
A second likely charge would be arson in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $2,000 fine.
