The North West Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Ballina has offered a €1,000 reward for information leading to the identity of the person responsible for setting a dog on fire in Co Mayo earlier this month.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, its chairperson Cathy O'Hora said she is "horrified" and "extremely upset" by what has happened.
"We have put up a reward of €1,000, it's not something that we can afford but it's far more important that we find who is responsible for this."
She described the dog as a mixed breed and small to medium in size and she expressed concern about not knowing who the perpetrator is.
"My concern is, have they done it before? Is it going to happen again? Will it be worse?"
She said the really worrying thing is that so far, no one has reported the dog as missing.
"The dog must have come from somewhere; did it have an owner? It's hardly just a stray."
She said there is no hard evidence in this case as it happened out of sight of cameras, and she added that is why it has offered the reward "because someone, somewhere, has to know something".
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The incident took place on 6 July and the dog died from its injuries.
Another issue highlighted by Ms O'Hora is that there is no animal welfare inspector in Mayo and there never has been one.
She said North West SPCA often gets calls and texts about cases of animal cruelty, but has no authority to go onto properties.
"The only thing a rescue can do is go door-to-door and say 'would you surrender the animal to us'?"
She said very often that works but if it does not work, there is nothing it can do about it, as it has no authority and there is no inspector to take over.
