Dog Found: Reward Proposed After Chihuahua Tied in 3 Bags in Vineland, New Jersey

WYNLAND, New Jersey (WPVI) – PETA is offering an additional reward of $ 5,000 after a six-pound chihuahua was found suffocating in a bag dumped near a railroad track in Vineland, New Jersey.

The South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter said 1-year-old Coco would have been dead had it not been for a passerby.

“When she came out of the bag, she was clearly short of air and was out of oxygen long enough to affect her,” said Jessica Morrison, director of operations at the South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter.

Coco found a man walking a dog over the weekend near the railroad tracks on the 500th quarter of Crystal Avenue in Vineland.

It is reported that Coco was found in a shopping bag that was placed in a plastic bag tied inside a cloth bag. Asylum officials say it was intentional.

After a medical examination, Coco had no other signs of abuse other than a noticeable shock, the shelter said. She is now recovering in a foster family.

“It’s great that, no matter how traumatic it was, it didn’t shake her confidence in people,” Morrison said. “She’s one happy dog.”

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact them.

The animal shelter is also offering a reward of $ 1,000 – for a total of $ 6,000 – for information leading to the arrest.