Crime & Safety
Donation Jar Stolen From Worcester Animal Shelter
The donation jar supports a program that allows local inmates to train dogs. Worcester police have made an arrest in the case.
WORCESTER, MA — Worcester police have arrested a 42-year-old man for breaking into an animal shelter and stealing a donation jar. The jar supports a program that allows local inmates to train dogs that live at the shelter.
Worcester police responded to the Second Chance Animal Services vet clinic at 831 Main St. at around 4:30 a.m. Friday after an alarm went off in the building. Officers arrived to find the front door smashed. The donation jar and a box of limited-edition Oreo cookies were missing.
The officers located Alex Cruz-Carrillo nearby the clinic and arrested him. He's being charged with breaking and entering to commit a felony, larceny, and vandalizing a building, according to police.
Erica Dwyer, the vet hospital director at the Worcester Second Chance Animal Services hospital, said Cruz-Carrillo stole a collection jar that support the shelter's Project Good Dog program. Under the program, inmates under the supervision of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, NCII Gardner, and Worcester County Sheriff train behaviorally-challenged dogs from Second Chance. The jar was not immediately returned, Dwyer said.
Second Chance operates four vet clinics and adoption centers in Worcester, Springfield, North Brookfield, and East Brookfield. This holiday season, the shelter is raising money by selling pet-themed animal cookies. A pack of six pet-themed cookies made by a local baker costs $20, and proceeds go to shelter services.
The shelter is also trying to raise $5,000 to pay for damage related to the break-in. The door has already been repaired, Dwyer said, sparing the shelter staff and the residents from the frigid cold.
