WINNSBORO – A reward has been offered in conjunction with a Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office investigation of an animal cruelty case regarding a female Pit Bull mix that was found on the edge of Drawdy Park Sunday morning by a citizen who was driving by.

The dog, which was barely breathing and severely emaciated according to the incident report, was found partially stuffed inside a dog food bag and lying on the side of Eighth Street at the corner of Drawdy Park across from the cemetery.

According to the citizen who found her and rushed her to a veterinary emergency clinic in Columbia, a deep bloody wound circled her neck where it appeared that an embedded collar or rope had been ripped out of her skin before she was dumped. The citizen also reported that when the dog was found, she couldn’t raise her head off the ground.

The dog did not survive the day.

While whoever abandoned the dying dog had left the scene, they also left evidence – two latex gloves – on the ground next to the dog that Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery says may possibly aid in the investigation.

“We’re having the gloves tested for DNA,” Montgomery told The Voice. “Hopefully, it will give us a lead to who did this, who left this dog to die. We’re also checking cameras in the area that might provide information useful for the investigation.”

A $1,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the abandonment and subsequent death of the dog, according to a Sheriff’s report. Three organizations (Hoof and Paw, Final Victory, and Because of Roscoe) contributed to the reward.

The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone with knowledge about this incident contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at 803-635-4141.