Video shows man tossing dog into Las Vegas dumpster, police hunt for suspect

Police on Wednesday asked for help from the public in finding a man captured on video throwing a dog into a dumpster in northwest Las Vegas.

The video circulated online after being posted to Facebook on Tuesday by the animal rights nonprofit group Vegas Pet Rescue Project.

According to the post and the Metropolitan Police Department, a chihuahua was thrown “into the dumpster like trash” in the 5500 block of Sheila Avenue at 9:14 a.m. Monday.

Metro responded with Animal Protection Services, and the dog was rescued the next day, police said in a news release.

In the video attached to the post, a shirtless man in red shorts can be seen exiting a vehicle, loosely carrying a dog at waist level, and tossing the animal into a residential dumpster. The man then returns to the vehicle and prepares to drive off before checking the bin and closing its lid.

According to the post, the people who obtained the video, which appeared to have been recorded from a home security camera, saved the dog afterward. Vegas Pet Rescue Project said the animal is now in their care.

“THIS is why we need stronger protections for animals. THIS is why we fight,” the post read, adding that the nonprofit would be working with Animal Protective Services to help identify and “hold [the man] accountable.”

The incident is purported to have happened less than 24 hours after the Assembly Judiciary Committee revived “Reba’s Law,” an animal cruelty bill named after an English bulldog left in a plastic tote during a summer heat wave.

Police asked anyone with further details about what happened Monday or the identity of the man in the video to contact Metro’s Animal Cruelty Detail at 702-828-3364. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.