The Pennsylvania SPCA is searching for two people who they say were caught on video intentionally letting two dogs loose to attack a family’s cat in Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood Tuesday morning.
Officials say the two unidentified suspects were walking on Granite Street with two dogs when they spotted a cat named “Buddy” on the porch of a home. The two suspects then let the dogs loose and repeatedly shouted “good boy,” as the dogs attacked the cat.
The video then shows a man step outside the home to bring Buddy to safety.
Buddy suffered significant lacerations to his abdominal region as well as internal damage due to the attack and is currently in critical condition, Nicole Wilson, the PSPCA's Director of Humane Law Enforcement, told NBC10.
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“So we have transferred him to a specialty veterinary service so that he can be monitored overnight," she said. "They have 24 hour services there. He needs a lot of support right now and we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to pull through this.”
Wilson told NBC10 the two suspects in the attack could potentially face up to seven years in prison.
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“Putting an animal on another animal for amusement is considered animal fighting so that would be a felony under that," she said. "There are additional statutes surrounding abusing an animal and causing serious bodily injury which is obvious that Buddy suffered severe bodily injury. That’s also a felony."
If you have any information on the identity of the two suspects involved in the attack, call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s cruelty hotline at 866-601-7722 or email cruelty@pspca.org. Tips can be left anonymously.
“We really want to address this because from the video you can see these individuals took an opportunity to harm another living creature that was doing nothing to harm them," Wilson said. "So our concern is not only for other animals but we all know the connection between violence against animals and violence against people. It’s strong and we just need to address this issue immediately to prevent any further suffering.”
