Are attacks on dogs connected?

Over the last two months, four pit bulls and a golden retriever have been found burned.

The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is investigating whether several attacks on dogs are connected after a f ifth incident was reported this week, officials said.

On Monday, a woman in Lancaster called the agency and reported that she found a stray pit bull June 6 that was burned but alive. Although she took the dog to a veterinarian to be treated, she didn’t alert authorities until media coverage revealed that other dogs in the area also were suffering burns, said Derek Brown, deputy director of county animal care department.

Over the last two months, four pit bulls and a golden retriever have been found burned. Four of those have been in the Lancaster area and one was in Kern County, Brown said.

The wounds were of similar size and occurred in similar areas of the dogs, leading authorities to consider that one person may be responsible for all the attacks. County veterinarians could not determine what kind of burns the dogs were suffering from but said two had been so severely wounded that they had to be euthanized.

Although animal control officers occasionally encounter abuse of stray animals, it is unusual to have so many cases in a short period.

“It’s not something we see regularly at all,” Brown said.

A $ 4,500 reward, part of which came from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said in a statement last week that he will ask his colleagues to offer an additional $ 10,000 reward at their next meeting, Sept. 1.

Antonovich said several burned dogs have been brought to the Lancaster shelter, which is in his district, over the last month. He called the burnings “depraved acts of cruelty.”

A 1- to 2- year- old stray was found in Lancaster last week with deep burns on his back and was taken to a shelter, according to Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue.

The golden retriever was treated at the Animal Medical Center of Southern California in West Los Angeles for third- degree burns, which caused nerve damage, the group said.

Volunteers named the dog Fergus, which is Irish for “strong and powerful,” they said.

Fergus is loving and “just wanted to be held,” the rescue group said.

The group has set up a Go Fund Me page for anyone interested in donating money to help pay for Fergus’ treatment.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Department of Animal Care and Control at ( 661) 974- 8096 or Deputy Daniel Gore at ( 661) 940- 3851.