Pit bull set on fire
Philadelphia, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
County: Philadelphia
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Someone set fire to a young pit bull late Wednesday in the secluded spot on Magee Street near New State Road, where the rumble of trains overhead and the darkness of the overpass and overgrowth nearby would have muffled the sounds and sights of the gruesome crime.
It was the latest in a rash of animal cruelty that has seized the city during the past year, a trend that prompted officials of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) to triple their agents in the past 18 months to nab offenders.
"Animal cruelty has become an epidemic in Philadelphia," said Howard Nelson, chief executive officer of the organization. "We're seeing an increase not only in the numbers of cases, but also the severity of cases."
In Wednesday's case, firefighters went out shortly after 7 p.m. for what they thought was a trash fire. But when they doused the flames, they found the emaciated body of a medium-size pit bull, believed to be about a year old, said PSPCA Agent George Bengal, who visited the scene yesterday hunting for clues that might yield a culprit.
A PSPCA veterinarian plans to perform tests on the dog today to determine whether it was alive or dead when it was set afire. The tests also will determine if the dog suffered other injuries before the blaze.
The dog had been burned with trash. Bits of cardboard and melted plastic were found burned onto its flesh, Nelson added.
"We've had reports of dog-fighting in these fields here," Bengal said, sweeping his hand to the nearby fields of Disston City Park.
The PSPCA also has seen a rash of starvation cases lately, Nelson added.
"On autopsies we've done on these animals, we've found the stomachs full of dirt, where they were eating dirt to survive," Nelson said.
Several weeks ago, someone stoned a male pit bull to death and hung its battered body from a fence at 27th and Huntington streets.
Last August and September, four pit bulls were found dead in Fairmount Park and two others near Philadelphia International Airport. Investigators believed that all of these dogs had been killed during or after dogfights.
The discovery of these dogs and several dog-fighting rings prompted the head of PSPCA to declare an animal-cruelty epidemic in Philadelphia last October.
Nelson urges citizens to report animal neglect or cruelty on the PSPCA's hot line at 866-601-SPCA. Callers may remain anonymous. If you have information on this case, please contact:
PSPCA
866-601-SPCA
References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
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