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Don’t abuse animals… or Dave Bautista might just come after you.
After three puppies were thrown from a car, the muscular wrestler-turned-actor stepped up and offered to help find the “monster” who did this.
Three dogs thrown from car
On February 22, the Humane Society of Tampa shared a heartbreaking story, writing that on Wednesday night three “helpless puppies,” 8-week-old pointer/hound mixes, were “mercilessly thrown from a car onto the side of the road.”
All three puppies survived the initial impact, but one of them was tragically struck by a car and killed. The two remaining pups, dubbed Luke and Leia, suffered minor injuries, and loyally stayed by their fallen brother’s side.
A good samaritan then picked up the puppies and contacted the Humane Society’s rescue team. Luke and Leia are now being cared for by HSTB’s medical team.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is still searching for the culprit of this horrible act, offering a $10,000 reward for information.
“This disregard for the life of vulnerable beings is not acceptable and is, in fact, illegal,” HSTB wrote. “Violence against animals is almost always linked to violence against humans and is a detriment to the safety of this community.”
“They deserve justice and we want answers.”
Dave Bautista: $5,000 offer
This act of animal cruelty outraged many people — including Dave Bautista. The former WWE wrestler-turned-actor, known for his roles in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune series, offered to help.
“This makes me sick to my stomach,” Bautista wrote in an Instagram comment. “And when it happens in my own community, I can’t help but take it personally. I’d love to contribute another $5000 to this reward.”
Bautista was praised by fans for making such a generous offer. There haven’t been any updates to the story, so we can assume the culprit is still at large and that Luke and Leia are still recovering, but with a now $15,000 reward at stake, hopefully someone will come forward with information and justice will be served on behalf of these poor puppies.
Dave Bautista, lover of dogs
It’s not the first time Dave Bautista has stepped up like this. Despite his tough guy persona on screen and in the ring, he has a soft spot for animals in need.
The Army of the Dead star previously offered another $5,000 reward to help Humane Society of Tampa find a culprit, after a puppy was found mistreated and chained up with a metal chain so tight it embedded into her skin.
“To me, there’s nothing more innocent and pure than a puppy,” Bautista said, according to WTSP. “For someone who can abuse a puppy has got to be the lowest form of human being, pure evil, for someone who can abuse an animal like that. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
While it’s not clear if a culprit was ever caught, it did lead to a happy ending: Bautista ended up adopting the dog himself, dubbing her “Penny Bautista.”
And in 2019, a pair of pitbulls were separated when their owner abandoned them — but Bautista adopted them both, allowing them to stay together.
“I needed them, they needed me,” he wrote on Instagram. “These beautiful babies spent the first six years of their lives neglected and abused. And now they are going to spend the rest of their lives being spoiled and loved.”
According to Bautista’s Hollywood co-stars, his love for dogs even extends to his work on set.
“He really loves his dogs man,” actor Kumail Nanjiani, who co-starred with Bautista in the comedy film Stuber, recalled to the Tampa Bay Times.
“There are some parts where we were shooting with a dog in a car, and the dog would get overheated and he was just so attuned to it. Dave would be like, ‘We can’t shoot! We have to cool him down!’”
Thank you to Dave Bautista for always offering to bring justice to dogs in need — we hope the person who cruelly threw these puppies from a car is found, and hope Luke and Leia recover and find homes soon.
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