Source: philly.com, June 18, 2010
Gatherers spoke of a life too short.
Activists, megaphone in hand, vowed the death would not be in vain.
At the foot of a park tree lay a makeshift memorial – farewell notes, flowers real and fake, framed tributes.
A plastic yellow bear that squeaks when you bite it.
Animal-rights advocates, their pets – and even a couple of city councilmen – assembled late Thursday afternoon in Barrett Playground at Eighth Street and Duncannon Avenue in the city’s Olney section to commemorate the life of a dog they had never met.
“The purpose is to send a unified message that violence against any living creature will not be tolerated,” said social worker Kim Wolf, a chief organizer of the event that drew roughly 100 people and a dozen dogs.
On Tuesday morning, a tennis ball’s throw from the site of the vigil, a 1-year-old female mixed-breed dog was found dead, suspended from a piece of playground equipment with a leash around her neck. Her paws were bloodied in what appeared to have been a frantic attempt to lower herself onto the ground just inches beneath her.
No arrests have been made, but according to George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “We have established ownership of the animal.”
The PSPCA and the Humane Society of the United States are combining to offer a $4,500 reward for information leading to a conviction.
Solving cases like this, many vigil speakers emphasized, is pivotal, given the well-documented link between cruelty to animals and domestic violence.
“If we don’t stop them now, they’re going to grow up to be the next Jeffrey Dahmers,” City Councilman Jack Kelly said, referring to the serial killer. “We have to stamp them out.”
Councilman William K. Greenlee also was there. As the crowd swelled – including a few hoops players who trekked from the nearby courts to mug for cameras – visitors added fresh emblems to the tree memorial: a leash, a Frisbee, a leopard Beanie Baby, a 101 Dalmatians coloring book.
One note read, “Rest in Peace, Flora” – the name bestowed on the dog posthumously by the PSPCA.
“They’re all individuals,” said Susan Cosby, the organization’s chief executive officer. “So we give them all names.”
