Intruders Break Into Arkansas Animal Shelter, Force Stray Dogs To Fight In Scene Workers Called A ‘Bloodbath’
Intruders broke into an Arkansas animal shelter and forced stray dogs to fight in a scene that officials said looked like a “bloodbath.”
The incident took place in the town of Helena-West Helena this week, with police saying an unknown group of people broke into the Humane Society of Delta. Once inside, the intruders caused destruction and pitted a number of dogs against one another, Arkansas Online reported.
Beth Florek, a Humane Society employee, said she received a phone call at 2 a.m. on Thursday from a neighbor who could hear the sounds of dogs fighting inside. Florek said it was not clear if the person who broke in brought their own dogs to fight the ones at the kennel, but found that multiple dogs were injured.
One of the dogs, Rubio, appeared to be attacked by at least two different dogs and was left with life-threatening injuries, Florek said. As the KTBS reported, Rubio suffered serious wounds to his abdomen, jaw, and ear.
The Humane Society wrote a Facebook post about the intrusion, expressing outrage at the incident. The post noted that beyond the injuries to the dogs, the fighting left damage to the structures needed to keep them in place.
“The scene was straight out of a horror film,” the post said. “It was a bloodbath. Kennels had been destroyed in the mayhem to give you an idea of the kind of fighting and violence that took place. To say we are disgusted at the kind of person who could do this to helpless, homeless animals is an understatement.”
Florek said this week’s incident was the third time in the past four years that someone has broken into the animal shelter and injured animals. Officials said they have tried to install security cameras, but they, in turn, were stolen.
Police in Arkansas have not said if they have any suspects in mind for the animal shelter break-in, or what charges they could face when arrested.
The disturbing story has attracted viral attention, with many news outlets picking it up and others sharing pictures of the injured dogs on social media. Many showed outrage at how someone could hurt innocent animals, and others pledged to help the shelter and the injured dogs.
Someone broke into an Arkansas animal shelter – an 8-year-old dog named Rubio was left badly injured.
Humane Society of the Delta is asking for help getting a security system, and some other things – there's more details on FB: https://t.co/9dbWjOxSCohttps://t.co/9NZ7uInchQ
— Arin Greenwood (@arin_twit) October 14, 2018
The Humane Society is now looking for donations to help the injured dogs and continue operations after the damage the intruders caused. Those interested in donating can contact the Humane Society of the Delta website.
