Three dead pit bulls with wounds "consistent with dogfighting" were discovered off Glenside Road in Millville, Cumberland County SPCA Executive Director Bev Greco said.

  (Photo provided by SPCA - An investigator holds one of several dead pit bulls found in a wooded area off Glenside Avenue in Millville on New Year's Day).

The SPCA is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for dumping the dogs, which were found in trash bags in a wooded area by a resident walking his own dogs.

The phone number of the Cumberland County SPCA is 856-691-1500. Tips can be anonymous.

The animals are believed to have been six months to one year old.  Two of the dogs were light brown and white and one was brindle in color.

Greco said all three were emaciated and had fresh wounds as well as scars consistent with fighting.

"The SPCA continues to deal with dogfighting all the time, every day," she said. "These dogs had absolutely been used for fighting."

Greco added that the site that the dogs were found appears to be a dump site only.  "There were no signs of fighting or trauma at the site. The dogs were found on the west side of Sharp Street back on the land owned by the Wawa," she said. "They may have come from the neighborhood on the east side of Sharp Street where there have been many issues with pit bulls."

Update 1/2/09:  “This is just absolutely reprehensible,” Cumberland County SPCA Executive Director Bev Greco told NBC 10 News at the scene.

A man walking his own dog around dusk New Year’s Day made the grisly discovery, in a wooded area just yards from the banks of Union Lake. Investigators are confident the dogs, thought to be between six months and a year old, were dumped here recently.

“They were all three in a very emaciated state. They had bruising. They had fighting wounds. They had scars as well as fresh wounds,” Greco said.

“They were double, triple bagged, so you couldn’t pick up a scent,” said Anthony Cills, a Millville Animal Control Officer. “It’s cruel and inhumane. It’s a cruelty case that’s going to be investigated.”

The site of the discovery is not far from a section of Millville known for dog fighting, according to investigators.

“We have had multiple issues in that neighborhood before so it leads me to believe that it’s where the animals came from initially,” Greco said. “This community, we have this issue with the pit bulls and the fighting and the dumping of bodies it seems like it never ends.”

The dogs’ bodies were taken to the Cumberland County SPCA shelter in Vineland. Investigators hoped to get more answers about how they died following a veterinary examination on Saturday.

“It has got to stop and we are really hoping that someone will come forward this time and help us to nail down where it’s coming from,” Greco said.

Reference:

New Jersey News

UPI