Just days after the creation of the Go Fund Me entitled “Stop Illegal Dog Fighting,” $22,842 had been raised to enhance rewards for information leading to the arrest of individuals involved with the abuse of animals in Southwest Florida, according to officials.

That number continues to grow daily, from as small as a $10 donation, to a substantial $10,000 anonymous donation.

“The community is stepping up in large fashion to make a strong statement that animal abuse will not be tolerated,” Trish Routte, Crime Stoppers coordinator, said. “As the fund continues to grow, so does the momentum within the community to work together to track down the individuals perpetrating these horrendous crimes and putting an end to animal abuse once and for all.”

In the aftermath of a recent attack of a local dog, used as a bait dog for fighting, Crime Stoppers partnered with several local anonymous residents to launch the Go Fund Me account.

Although the impetus for the creation of the account was the attack on Sunset, and the desperate hope that the person or persons responsible are identified and arrested for the crime, the site will extend to rewards for information on any type of dog fighting or animal abuse.

Organizers of the account are hoping to utilize this as a means for animal lovers throughout Southwest Florida, and beyond, to do whatever they can to help encourage people who have information about these types of crimes to come forward.

The goal for the account is $50,000, which would be a pool of money to offer rewards of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of individuals participating in the dog fighting trade.

This reward money would be in addition to the up to $1,000 offered by Crime Stoppers.

Anyone with information on the abuse of animals is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 780-TIPS (8477).

All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers and up to $5,000 from the organizers of the Go Fund Me account.

Source: Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers