Update: The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office believes they have found the person who tossed a bag full of lab puppies from a bridge into water in Henderson on Sunday. Deputies say they collected enough evidence to arrest 55-year-old Gary James Goulas of Breaux Bridge. He’s been charged with eight counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and booked into the parish prison.
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The Humane Society of Louisiana is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person who threw a dog food bag containing eight puppies from a bridge into Bayou Portage in St. Martin Parish on Sunday. Humane Society of Louisiana executive director Jeff Dorson says a nearby fisherman saw the man toss what appeared to be litter into the water.
“He approached the litter, he saw the guy drive away, and then he heard some yelping as he got closer. He grabbed the bag and looked inside. Eight black lab puppies, only a few days old, were in the sack,” said Dorson.
Dorson says the person behind the tossing could face up to eight felony counts, one for each pup, with a fine of $5,000 to $25,000 and possible prison time of 1 to 10 years for each count.
“It was malicious intent. Clearly, he knew what he was doing, he planned it out, he took the steps and he executed the plan by putting them in a bag, driving them to a location that he knew that if he threw them in the water that it would be fatal,” said Dorson.
The puppies are in the care of Every Paw Animal Rescue in Evangeline Parish and Dorson says the opportunity to adopt the pups will be coming soon.
“Probably in the next two or three weeks, they’ll be posting new pictures and giving updates. They appear to be healthy. Through their page on Facebook, you can follow the developments and they will tell the public when they are available for adoption,” said Dorson.
