PETA offers $2,500 reward

NORFOLK, Va. -- The national association called PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the trapper whose trap snagged a McCook couple's dog for five long, cold days last month.

Stephanie Boyles and David Perle of PETA, in Norfolk, Va., said in a news release Friday morning anyone with information about Dudley's ordeal is encouraged to contact Red Willow County Sheriff Gene Mahon, (308) 345-1850.

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An anonymous caller told the Gazette on Friday that he knew who the trapper was, and had contacted the local Nebraska Game & Parks Commission officer and sheriff. When informed of the reward, the caller said he would donate it to charity if he received it.

Dudley is Con and Marty Fielding's loveable golden retriever, rescued from the trap on the Republican River southwest of McCook by the Fieldings' neighbor boys, Forrest, Carson and Wyatt Kain. (See Pat on the Back, left).

Nebraska law requires that traps must be checked every day and marked with the owner's identification.

Dudley is home, healing well, but still limping.