Following several recent high-profile cases of animal abuse, the San Diego County Department of Animal Services will begin providing rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in felony animal cruelty cases, officials announced Wednesday.

The department is working with the San Diego County Crime Stoppers program, which has paid out more than $500,000 over the last 25 years in cases of violence against people and destruction of  property. The new program expands the reward program to cases of animal cruelty.

Tips can be made anonymously to (888) 580-8477 or www.sdcrimestoppers.com.

"We encourage everyone in our community to be our eyes and ears in the fight against animal cruelty," said Lt. Daniel DeSousa of the Department of Animal Services.

Recent abuse cases include a dog found stabbed to death and two puppies found with their ears cut off. Also, a man in Ramona pleaded guilty to owning and training dogs for fighting, and another admitted slamming a cat against a wall.

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego

A 5-foot-long lizard that was caught after roaming through a Riverside neighborhood was expected to be reunited Wednesday with its owner.

Elmer, a black-throated monitor lizard, had been missing since Sunday after he escaped through an open door, the Riverside County Animal Services Department said.

At the time, Elmer's tank was being cleaned, which provided the reptile an opportunity to wander away from the Riverside home where he was kept as a pet, officials said.

Animal services officers inspected Elmer's home Wednesday and determined that it was large enough to safely house the pet.

Elmer was captured Tuesday by officers from the Animal Services and Riverside police departments.

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-- Robert J. Lopez

Video: Elmer at a Riverside animal shelter. Credit: Riverside County Animal Services Department

When Riverside County animal control officer Jenny Selter got a call to retrieve a lizard Tuesday, she figured it would be a small garden-variety reptile.

She was taken aback when she rolled onto the scene in Riverside and saw the 5-foot-long animal staring right at her.

"This was no garden lizard," she said in statement.

With the aid of a police officer, she used a pole to capture the lizard and hoist it onto her truck.

The animal is believed to be a black-throated monitor lizard, which is native to Africa, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

Department spokesman John Welsh said the lizard was probably someone's pet that escaped. He said it was the largest lizard he has seen.

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Photo: A chihuahua at the animal shelter eyes keeps his eyes on the long lizard. Credit: Riverside County Department of Animal Services

A German man accused of shipping hundreds of live tarantulas by mail to the United States has pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to a federal animal-smuggling charge, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Sven Koppler, 37, admitted Monday that he shipped 247 live tarantulas to federal agents in L.A. who posed as buyers in a 10-month investigation dubbed "Operation Spiderman." Koppler also shipped 22 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, formally known as Brachypelma smithi, a species protected under international treaty, officials said.

Prosecutors said Koppler made $300,000 by selling spiders to people worldwide. Koppler, who lives in Wachtberg, Germany, will be sentenced April 11 and faces a maximum term of 20 years in federal prison.

Agents began investigating last March after a routine search of an international package revealed about 300 live tarantulas on their way to L.A., according to a criminal complaint. A second package intercepted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents contained nearly 250 live tarantulas wrapped in colored plastic straws , including the Mexican red-kneed tarantulas.

Agents began posing as customers, ordering dozens more tarantulas from the smuggler, officials said.

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Photo: Tarantulas confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A German national admitted shipping the tarantulas into the U.S. through the mail and pleaded guilty to a federal animal-smuggling charge, prosecutors said. Credit: Reuters / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A Shar-Pei mix turned itself into a Shar-Pei sandwich Friday when it got wedged between parallel cinder-block walls in Cathedral City.

But not to worry, dog lovers. Riverside County animal control officers rode to the rescue of the wrinkly pooch, which was promptly nicknamed Wally.

Aided by workers from the Coachella Valley Water District, which owns an adjacent property, animal control officers knocked out enough of the blocks to, well, free Wally.

Police and animal control officers were able to surround and rescue a horse Friday morning that was running through the streets of Pacoima, authorities said.

The horse escaped from its home about 2 a.m., and several motorcycle officers formed a perimeter and followed the horse as it ran, said David Mascarenas, watch commander at the LAPD Valley Traffic Division.

Eventually, the horse stopped near Sunburst Street and Telfair Avenue.

“The horse finally got tired and stopped, and the officers waited for animal control,” Mascarenas said. “The horse was well-cared for. It seemed to be a competitive show horse. The officers were really cautious on not letting it get hurt.”

A goat confiscated from a suspected drunk driver near Hemet is unharmed and could be adopted out if its owner does not step forward, authorities said Friday.

The goat was discovered riding shotgun in a car stopped Tuesday night by a California Highway Patrol officer. While the driver remained inside the car, his passenger in the back seat leapt out and tried to run away but fell down.

Authorities suspected the goat was stolen after the driver and passenger denied ownership.

“It just sounds like they were on a drunken joyride, and the goat became their new buddy along the way,” said John Welsh, spokesman for the Riverside County Animal Services Department.

The goat was brought to the new Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter, where it was keeping company with a deer and several horses while waiting for its owner. Welsh said the animal shelters normally deal with cats and dogs, but more exotic creatures such as ferrets, tortoises and peacocks are not unheard of.

Two trout poachers have been cited for violating fishing laws in a Lancaster park, authorities said Friday.

L.A. County sheriff's deputies and wardens with the state Department of Fish and Game conducted a day-long surveillance Thursday of Apollo Park after receiving complaints of excessive fishing.

Poachers seemed to favor days when the park pond is restocked with trout, which occurs twice a month on Thursdays from November to April. In warmer months, catfish replaces the trout, authorities said.

Two people were issued citations for fishing with more than two poles and smoking in a county park, authorities said.

Sheriff’s parks bureau Cpt. Stephen Smith said joint operations will continue on a random basis to enforce fishing rules and regulations.

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Authorities stopping a suspected drunk driver near Hemet earlier this week found an unusual passenger riding shotgun: a goat. 

The incident began when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over the vehicle Tuesday afternoon. The driver remained in the vehicle, while another man inside bolted down the street but fell.

Neither man claimed ownership of the goat, which led authorities to suspect that it had been stolen, said John Welsh, spokesman for the Riverside County Animal Services Department.

Welsh said Thursday that goat was resting comfortably in a shelter.

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A Chino woman has been reunited with her prized French bulldog, stolen from her home four months ago, police said Monday.

In September, a man met the woman at her home for the purpose of buying the dog, which was valued at $3,000. He grabbed the animal and fled through the woman's front door, the Chino Police Department said.

In December, police said, a similar crime took place in Santa Ana.

Police said leads in both cases led them to Darryl Cole, a Duarte resident who was booked on suspicion of taking both pets.

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Photo: One of the stolen dogs. Credit: Chino Police Department