20-05-2025
Dog dies after he was abandoned in south Las Vegas valley, rescue says
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — As Reba's Law makes its way through the Nevada legislature, which would increase penalties for animal cruelty, another dog in the valley has died after being dumped, according to a Las Vegas rescue.
Video footage appears to show a man and a small dog walking in a roundabout near Eastern Avenue and 215 on Thursday, May 15. Moments later, the person drives off leaving the dog behind. A good Samaritan found the dog lying on the ground, not moving and took him to Vegas Roots Rescue, which helps abused and neglected animals.
'Given what is happening in our valley, so many animals, our shelters are full,' co-founder Lauren Mushkin said. 'We just immediately said 'You know what. We're just gonna take him. Let's do this. Let's figure out what we can do for this guy.''
Mushkin and her team named him Eastern. He tested positive for parvovirus, also known as parvo, an extremely contagious and often deadly disease in dogs.
'We genuinely believe that Eastern was probably sick for a period of time, which is why, whoever that person is, dumped him. They probably didn't want to pay for medical care,' Mushkin said. 'His health declined so quickly. He was vomiting. He started to vomit blood. His bowels were out of control. It was very, very terrible. It was very unfair.'
Eastern died one day after he was found. The identity of the person who left him for dead remains unknown. Mushkin is pushing for the community's help to hold the person and others who commit animal cruelty accountable.
'If your neighbor is backyard breeding, report them to APS,' Mushkin said. 'If you see someone selling puppies, report them. If you feel like someone is leaving their dog outside all summer, say something.'
She also wants tougher laws for animal abuse and neglect.
'I think that any sort of law that is telling people that we as a society are taking these cases of abuse and neglect seriously is a huge positive step forward,' Mushkin said. 'But I will say that if we're not going to have serious consequences, people are not going to take their actions seriously.'
If passed, Reba's Law would elevate animal cruelty penalties to a felony and increase the punishment from a maximum of four years in prison to six years.
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