Humane Society offers reward for info in fatal dog-shooting case

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fatal shooting of a dog last month, authorities said Wednesday.

Someone shot and killed a 10-year-old female blue heeler named Pepper sometime between 8:45 and 10:30 p.m. on May 30 at a house in the 7100 block of North 127th Street East, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Lt. Lin Dehning said.

A necropsy determined the dog was killed by a gunshot wound from what appeared to be a high-velocity pellet gun, Dehning said.

The Humane Society reported the family found the dog lying in the driveway of their property with two gunshot wounds. The wounds were so severe the dog was euthanized by a veterinarian.

“This is truly an awful crime,” Midge Grinstead, the Kansas state director of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement. “This dog suffered horribly and the perpetrators were blatant in wanting the dog and the owners to suffer.”

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 911, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office at 316-660-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers online at www.WichitaCrimeStoppers.com or via text message by texting TIP217, then the message to CRIMES (274637).

While all tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous, Dehning said information relayed to the Humane Society cannot be anonymous.

“The Humane Society is not set up to accept anonymous information,” he said.

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Humane Society offers reward for info in fatal dog-shooting case."