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Pit bull puppy set on fire
Lancaster, CA (US)Incident Date: Monday, May 5, 2008
County: Los Angeles
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 2 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Authorities are asking for the public's help in locating a suspect who deliberately set a dog on fire in Lancaster late Monday night. The badly burned dog is currently being treated at a Lancaster animal shelter and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday offered a $5,000 reward in hopes of finding the assailant.
Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the 300 block of East Lingard Street near Foxton Avenue shortly after 11:30 p.m after receiving a call from a neighbor, Lt. David Oliva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lancaster Station said.
A woman at the scene said that she and her stepson heard horrible yelping sounds, went outside and saw that a dog had been set ablaze in the front yard of the vacant house next door.
While totally engulfed in flames, the dog -- a pit bull mix -- started running in circles in the street. The woman then ripped off her jacket and threw it on the dog to put out the flames, Oliva said.
The dog, which is about 6 months old according to the AP, survived but suffered burns to the head, stomach, rear right leg and paw.
Deputies took the injured dog to the Los Angeles County Animal Shelter in Lancaster, Oliva said.
Residents told deputies that they did not know who the dog belonged to and did not see who set the dog on fire, Oliva said.
News of the abuse quickly spread, and area residents have already started making offers to adopt the dog, according to the camera crew.
The assailant will face felony animal cruelty charges, according to a sheriff's deputy.
Anyone with information on the attack was urged to call the sheriff's Lancaster Station at (661) 948-8466. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Sheriff's Lancaster Station
(661) 948-8466
Case UpdatesThere's nothing poetic about animal abuse. Yet in this story, poetry is helping a mistreated dog.
It started in May. Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies were called to the yard of a vacant house in Lancaster where it was reported that a dog had deliberately been set on fire.
A neighbor saw the dog, a year-old pit bull, in flames, running in circles in the street, so she ran out and threw her jacket on the dog to put the fire out. The deputies took the dog to the Lancaster animal shelter where veterinarians said the dog had severe burns over 60 percent of her body.
But while the dog was in obvious severe pain, she still wagged her tail, lifted her paw gently and licked her rescuers. Karma Rescue of Los Angeles heard about how this dog remained sweet despite the cruel treatment she had suffered, and arranged to bail her out of the shelter into an animal hospital and take responsibility for her care. The rescue volunteers named her Abigail.
Rande Levine, president and founder of Karma Rescue, said the group launched an Internet call for donations to raise the needed $45,000 for the dog's care and healing so that she would one day be adopted by a loving family.
"We just could not have her put to sleep after all she has been through," Levine said. "We needed to show her there is a life of love out there."
Here's where poetry and the students at McKinley School in Pasadena come in. English and history teacher Christina Alves was planning her students' yearly "To End Plight" poetry-night fundraiser for worthy causes. She said her students wanted to focus on something that happened locally, where their efforts would make a difference. A 7th grade student, Ian Krygsman-Wilk, had read about Abigail and suggested the class donate their earnings for the dog's medical care.
"He saw the story and he really wanted us to help," Alves said. "This is a kid so touched by a story. It changed him."
So Abigail's plight became the motivating factor for Alves' fundraiser. During the school's open house, the students conducted an old-fashioned poetry reading of their own work (complete with memorized poems: no "cheat sheets" were allowed) and poetry contest. Copies of their poems were decorated, laminated and beautifully presented for friends and family to buy. Everyone who came - students, parents, the other teachers and even Alves' sister, Helena, a substitute teacher - rallied at the event.
More than $250 was raised for Abigail. Even after the event, students still brought in donations.
"They were giving up their snack money," Alves said. "I am so proud of them."
She credits Ian for finding a cause that motivated the other students.
"It was really the kids that drove it," Alves said.
Levine was touched by what these students did to help an abused dog none of them have even met.
"When I received the call from Miss Alves about her class wanting to raise money for Abigail, my heart just filled with warmth," Levine said. "I was so taken back. They amazed me. Nothing is more selfless than these kids reaching out to help a dog in need.
"I wish we had more teens like them in this world. I can promise you if we did, there would be less animal abuse in the world."
Levine sent representatives to thank the students in person a few weeks ago, bringing another dog to represent Abigail, who is still under treatment at an animal hospital in Los Angeles. About half the money needed for her full recovery has been raised.
Alves is considering tying the future poetry fundraisers to needy dogs at Karma rescue.
"I think we found what kids are truly engaged in," she said.
Want to help Abigail? Send checks of any amount to Karma Rescue, 1158 26th St No. 155, Santa Monica, CA 90403. Or visit the Karma Rescue Web site at www.karmarescue.com and click on Abigail's story. | Source: Daily Bulletin - July 4, 2008
Update posted on Jul 6, 2008 - 11:05AM |
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