SPCA Otago is following promising leads in its inquiry into a puppy drowning and is heartened by the groundswell of support shown by the public, a spokeswoman says.
There was a public outcry when the organisation said the 12-week purebred huntaway puppy drowned after apparently being tied to a rock and thrown off the Alexandra Bridge last week.
The SPCA sought information from the public to find the offender and SPCA Otago executive officer Sophie McSkimming said she could not give any details about the information gleaned so far as the investigation was still under way. However, there had been some "positive lines of inquiry''.
She said the response to the Otago Daily Times story about the incident, posted on the organisation's Facebook page, was "amazing''.
"There's been a huge public outcry. The response has been huge - 42,000 people have looked at the post and everyone was talking about it and seems to be as horrified as we were about what happened to the puppy.''
Although there were some promising leads, more information would be appreciated, Ms McSkimming said.
"Let's hope it'll follow through to us being able to prosecute someone over the death of the puppy.''
A postmortem examination was carried out last weekend but the results would remain confidential as it could form part of the evidence in any court case connected with the incident, she said.
