Officials with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, are offering a $5,000 reward after three puppies were found abandoned in the cold in a wooded area of Pittsville, NJ, last week.
According to the group, rescuers recovered the dogs -- all about 10-weeks-old -- after a resident heard puppies crying in a wooded area near the intersection of Gershal and Eppinger avenues on Nov. 29.
One of the puppies was dead when rescuers arrived, officials said, and the others were "emaciated, dehydrated, and cold" after temperatures reportedly dipped to less than 20-degrees that evening.
“Someone dumped these puppies in the woods, one died, and the others were left to freeze or starve to death,” PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien said in a statement. “If there are more animals in this person’s custody, they could be in grave danger, and PETA urges anyone with information to come forward.”
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In a statement, PETA officials said that the surviving puppies -- who have been named "Wanda" and "Cosmo" -- were transported to South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter where they are receiving care.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police's Bridgeton Barracks at 856-451-0100.
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