Puerto Rican Pet Massacre Mystery

(Barceloneta, Puerto Rico) For violating the no-pet policy of government housing projects, authorities conducted raids this week and seized dozens of dogs and cats.

The authorities had promised to take the animals to a shelter but, instead, they allegedly were thrown off a bridge to their deaths.

A local resident, Jose Manuel Rivera, used a backhoe to bury about 50 animals Saturday in a mass grave near the bridge where they were dumped.

He discovered the animals around dawn Tuesday after hearing barking and whimpers from animals who survived the 50-foot fall. He recovered six injured dogs, who were reunited with their owners after they saw their pets on a television news broadcast.

"One had a broken spine, and about all of them had broken legs," Rivera said.

Local Mayor Sol Luis Fontanez blamed the pet massacre on Puerto Rico-based Animal Control Solutions, a contractor for the city, but the company owner, Julio Diaz, denies that the dead animals are the ones his company collected. Diaz promised to provide records of proof to the authorities tomorrow.