Gulf Coast Humane Society is partnering with the Lee County Sheriff's Office and Crime Stoppers to try and stop animal abuse.
In 2021, a dog named Khaleesi was neglected and abused , weighing only 19 pounds. Her owner, Judy Wilber, saved and adopted her.
"She was literally skin and bones.," Wilber said. "Her esophagus wouldn't work. We had to give her a drop of food every 20 minutes, which set a timer. Then we had to hold her and kind of shake her because she couldn't swallow."
Khaleesi is just one of the many heartbreaking animal abuse cases in recent years in Lee County. But she was one of the lucky ones because someone called an animal rescue group about her.
"Muddy Paws Rescue came into the picture, scooped her out of the arms, and were able to bring her to the vet and basically keep her from dying," Wilber said.
Khaleesi is just one part of the initiative to end animal cruelty.
This year, the Lee County Sheriff's Office Animal Cruelty Task Force has received 1,586 calls for service.
Lee County Commissioners created an animal cruelty registry, which shows who has abused a dog and who has been convicted for it.
"Not only that, we red flag the address," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. "So if our sheriff's deputies go out to that address, we know we're dealing with an animal abuser."
Gulf Coast Humane Society, the sheriff's office and Crime Stoppers are putting up posters on three bus shelters and four Leetran buses starting Friday that show images of neglected dogs and have Crime Stoppers' number on them.
The main goal is to have you report an animal abuse case to crime stoppers if you see one. Trish Routte with SWFL Crime Stoppers said you can stay anonymous, and you can earn a cash reward for calling.
"They don't want to have to file a report, they don't want to have to have an officer coming to their house, and they don't want to have to go to court all the things that go along with it," Routte said. "That's the glory of Crime Stoppers, is that you can make that call and that's all you're doing. You're making that call."