Dog set on fire at baseball field - Tacoma, WA

Sunday, Jun 30, 2002

A small chihuahua-type dog was set on fire with lighter fluid at the University of Puget Sound baseball field. Two security officers at the university saw "something flickering" near the warning track in left field at about 9:30 p.m. When the officers took a closer look, they found a dog's body still burning. There was an empty lighter fluid container on the ground next to it.

The officers scooped some water from a nearby puddle to put out the fire. The dog's body was sitting on what was described as a hard cardboard pan.

The baseball field was locked at the time of the incident. The security officers think someone scaled the fence while holding the dog.

Todd Badham, director of security at the university said, "My assumption was that somebody carried it in and lit it."

The dog did not have any tags or identification on it and they did not see anybody in the area. The Tacoma police were called in to investigate.

The body of the small dog was removed by an officer from the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County the following morning. The fire scorched a small patch of grass but did not cause any other damage.

Tacoma police have filed an incident report but do not have any suspects.

References

• Tacoma WA News Tribune - July 22, 2002

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