On December 28, 2014, at 7:56 a.m. a man was videotaped beating a dog in Pulaski Park near Talmadge Street. The man and the dog were gone when City of Poughkeepsie Police officers arrived. Since that day the members of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department have worked relentlessly to identify and locate the man and the dog.

The man has been identified as, THEOPHILUS J BURKE, a 37-year-old Brooklyn man, and the dog has been identified as BURKE’s dog “GIZMO”. GIZMO is described as being a two- to three-year-old small white dog, possibly a Maltese. A Dutchess County Court arrest warrant has been filed against BURKE charging him with Animal Cruelty.

On January 29, 2015, Detective Sergeant John Zeltmann and Detective Garth Mason recovered “GIZMO” at an address in Brooklyn, New York. The City of Poughkeepsie Police Department was assisted in this by members of the NYPD’s 67th and 69th Precincts. GIZMO was transported back to the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department. GIZMO appears to be healthy, but is being checked out by a Veterinarian. GIZMO will be sheltered at a local facility until the Court case is resolved.

At this time the suspect THEOPHILUS J BURKE is still at large and wanted. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the City of Poughkeepsie Police at 451-7577.

The New York State Humane Association, headquartered in Kingston, NY, is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who was videotaped beating his dog in Pulaski Park near Talmadge Street in Poughkeepsie, on December 28, 2014. 

The New York State Humane Association has conducted animal cruelty investigation workshops for police and humane investigators throughout the state for the past 15 years and has offered rewards to assist police with their investigations. A key segment of the NYSHA workshop focuses on the strong correlation between animal abuse and human violence. NYSHA is currently scheduling its workshops for 2015.

Alert sent on 01/29/2015 at 3:51PM EST

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