HELLAM TWP., Pa. -- Officials with the York County SPCA said they don't know what the exact cause of death was, but found a pit bull dead near the intersection of Track Lane in Hellam Township.
He was found on Christmas morning. Officials with the SPCA said the white male pit bull suffered horribly and likely died from injuries received during dog fighting.
Melissa Smith, executive director of the York County SPCA, said, "There were obviously a lot of bite wounds, so we brought the dog back here to the shelter, and one of our veterinarians did a thorough examination on the dog and found 110 bite wounds."
The dog also had a wound in the middle of his chest that could be a stab wound. They say it is likely the dog was involved in illegal dog fighting.
Smith said, "This type of activity brings all sorts of crime: Weapons, and gambling and children are being exposed to this type of violence, so it's such, it's a very big problem but it's changing the mindset of the people that are involved in this type of thing."
The pit bull is the same type of dog as Bugz - the white male pit bull who was allegedly beaten by his owner in York. She said people are more hesitant to adopt pit bulls from the SPCA because of the bad reputation they have for dog fighting.
Smith said, "If someone or people don't like that breed of dog, they may not think that this is important. If it were another breed of dog, it might affect someone differently like, 'Oh, well it's a pit bull and that's what they do.' And that's certainly not what we want people to think in this situation."
The executive director of the SPCA said if they find the person responsible, they can bring felony charges against him or her if they can tie it to dog fighting.
She said, "People that are engaging in this type of activity have no compassion or empathy for those animals. That's what they think they're put on this earth for."
The Humane Society of the U.S. is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the dog's abuser.