Reward in dog killings now at $25,000

PENNSBURY, Pa. - October 30, 2009 The Chester County SPCA announced Friday that the award has been increased to $25,000.

The amount has been steadily increasing since the crime was discovered, and had an announced increase of about $10,000 just on Friday.

The dogs, Luna and Emma, were taken, killed, and left along the railroad tracks in Pennsbury Township, Pa. They were found on Sunday.

"I started crying immediately because I have a dog and I care very much about animals," said Joanne Durfee, who found the dogs when she was out for a walk on Sunday afternooon.

She said they weren't just lying there as if they'd been hit by a car. Instead, she said, they were laid out tail to tail, as if part of some ritual.

"They were deliberately posed and laid very carefully in a position that, I knew right away, something was very, very wrong," she said.

The dogs were owned by a family that lives about three miles from where they were found. They were last seen at the home on Saturday. Luna and Emma were both about two years old.

They had both been shot between the eyes with a small caliber handgun.

Authorities say they are looking for a red Ford 150 pickup last seen near the family farm where the dogs lived.

"That's really execution style, without question. These are two sweet dogs," said Richard Britton of the Chester County SPCA. "They don't deserve this kind of finish."

The dogs were found dead just hours after they were reported missing.

Anyone with information can call the Chester County SPCA at 610-692-6113, ext. 213 or SEND AN EMAIL.

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