Reward Doubled To $10K For Conviction Of Dog Abuser In Nassau: SPCA

FREEPORT, NY — A reward has been doubled to $10,000, leading to the conviction of a brutal animal abuser.

The dog was found in Freeport with 17 stab wounds in November.

"We are the voice of the voiceless," Nassau County SPCA Detective Matthew Roper told Patch. "Nobody really understands the passion that goes into humane investigations of animal cruelty."

Since holding a Dec. 28 news conference, the SPCA received about a dozen tips, two of which are leading them in the right direction," Roper said. "But nothing ready to make an arrest."

He said time is of the essence to find the person responsible for the cruelty to the pitbull named Cornell, who is convalescing at an undisclosed foster home.

"This is a precursor to a more heinous crime," Roper said. "All of these serial killers, these school shootings, these mass killings--they all start from animal abuse."

Still, the SPCA hopes this was an isolated incident as they investigate.

"This has so many more layers than just a dog that was stabbed 17 times," he said. "What other abuse is going on in the house where this animal was living?"

Some of the wounds impacted the dog's lungs, which "caused them to leak air," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at the news conference two weeks ago.

Roper encourages people to provide any information as "no tip is too small."