The Oakland Press
March 13, 2008
By Charles Crumm

First, they took care of the puppy found with rubber bands wrapped around the base of her ears.

Now, the Oakland Pet Adoption Center wants to find and punish whoever caused one of the puppy's ears to fall off.  The other surgically removed.

The center is offering a $500 reward for the arrest of the person who "home cropped" the 10-week-old Labrador's ears last week.

That reward would jump to $1,000 upon a conviction for animal cruelty.

The female puppy was found abandoned on North Perry Street in Pontiac and taken to the shelter by police.

"As far as I know, we haven't done anything like this before," said Kara Beyerlein, of the Oakland Pet Adoption Center.  "It's kind of a first-time thing.  We're praying it works. Hopefully, itll be the start of cracking down on animal cruelty."

The reward money comes from The Oakland Pet Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making Oakland County a No More Homeless Pets community.

The charge for injuring the puppy is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, a fine of not more than $5,000 or community service up to 500 hours.

Employees at the Oakland Pet Adoption Center have named the puppy Jada.

"We were just trying to think of some cute names since she's kind of girly," Beyerlein said.  "She's acting like a normal puppy."