COLUMBIA COUNTY / AUGUSTA, GA - On Dec. 3, Martinez resident Bobby Jordan came home to the unthinkable: His 3-year-old Labrador, Tibby, was dead with a broken back and his dachshund-mix, Daisy, was barely alive. Evidence suggests the injuries were inflicted by a person.

Who could do such a thing? According to Dale Bartlett, deputy manager for animal cruelty at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a seriously dangerous individual.

“This case is very disturbing,” he says. “Research shows the type of people capable of animal cruelty are often capable of other crimes.”

He cites a Chicago study that reports 70 percent of those convicted of animal cruelty have also been arrested for other serious crimes, ranging from homicide to assault to narcotics trafficking.

“When you take an animal abuser off the street, chances are you’re interrupting the criminal career of someone involved in other crimes as well.”

Though the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the case, Bartlett says animal abuse cases are difficult for police to investigate.

“Often, unless there’s a witness, the police are stuck with no viable leads, so the point of a reward is to encourage anyone who might have information to step forward.”

In this case, the reward is $7,500. The HSUS contributed $2,500 and the Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, which funds the Humane Society’s standing $5,000 reward for animal fighting, contributed $5,000.

Bartlett says his organization intervenes in more than 200 cases a year, either through rewards or through working directly with prosecutors once charges have been filed.

Anyone with any information about the attack is encouraged to contact the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department at 706-541-1044.