Miami-Dade County, Fla. — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy today a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of the person or people responsible for the grisly decapitation of a dog found in the Princeton area on the Florida Turnpike on Jan. 6.
Officials believe the mutilation might be connected to an earlier case. On December 9, a dog was found decapitated in Biscayne Bay, near Miami’s Morningside area. Both acts have been investigated but no one has been charged with either crime.
The decapitation was performed too cleanly to be the result of a hit-and-run accident, authorities determined, and authorities suspect that the dogs were “discarded” by dogfighting criminal associates.
Although Miami-Dade Animal Services has seven investigators focused on animal abuse cases in the county, they are not leading the investigation into either dog decapitation case. Gilda Nunez of Miami-Dade Animal Services said in a report that her team has responded to six dog fighting cases just between the months of November 2025 and January 2026. However, her team was the last to be notified in the dog decapitation cases that Miami-Dade Sherrif’s Officers and the Miami Police Department are handling.
“These disturbing acts reflect a deeply troubling level of cruelty and demand a swift and thorough investigation,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “We urge anyone with information to come forward and contact authorities. Violence against animals is often linked to broader patterns of criminal behavior and can be an early indicator of violence against people.”
Animal Wellness Action encourages community members to report tips to tips@animalwellnessaction.org. Detectives also asked anyone with information about these or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.
Animal Wellness Action and the Center stand ready to work with law enforcement, prosecutors, and animal protection partners to ensure that justice is served and that anyone responsible for this killing or these killings faces meaningful consequences under Florida law.
The ACE Act, FIGHT Act as Enforcement Tools
Animal Wellness Action is also pressing for stronger federal enforcement capacity to combat animal cruelty. The Animal Cruelty Enforcement (ACE) Act, H.R. 1477, would create a team of dedicated prosecutors to work with local and federal authorities to enforce anti-cruelty laws, and the FBI Animal Cruelty Taskforce Act, H.R. 3683, would establish a specialized policing unit within the FBI to focus on animal cruelty crimes. The Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 3946/S. 1454 is aimed at dismantling organized dogfighting and cockfighting operations. The FIGHT Act would strengthen federal anti-animal-fighting laws by banning online gambling and the simulcasting of animal fights, prohibiting the shipment of mature fighting birds through the U.S. mail, authorizing civil forfeiture of property used in animal-fighting crimes, and creating a citizen-suit provision allowing private individuals to take legal action against animal fighters.