A dog was found dead — sealed inside a crate and thrown into a dumpster like garbage — at an apartment complex in Stockton, California. The image spread across social media over the July 4th weekend, and the outrage was immediate. Animal advocates rushed to the scene hoping the dog was still alive. It wasn't.

Stockton Police and Stockton Animal Services have opened an active animal cruelty investigation. But opening an investigation isn't enough. The person who did this needs to be identified, charged, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of California law.

California Penal Code 597 makes it a felony to abandon an animal in a way that causes suffering or death. What happened in that dumpster fits that definition. We are calling on the Stockton Police Department and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's office to pursue felony animal cruelty charges against whoever is responsible — and to make clear that this city will not look the other way.

"It's happening way, way too many times," said Alexandria Galindo, one of the advocates who responded to the scene. She's right. This has to stop.

Sign this petition to demand that Stockton Police and the San Joaquin County DA pursue the maximum charges available. This dog deserved better. Sign now.