At 7:30pm this evening a crowd gathered at the dumpster behind the Goodwill on Hwy 183 near Balcones Dr. to hold a vigil for "Sweetie," a dog that apparently was tortured, killed, and dumped at that location.
On Tuesday, June 23rd Vicki McCauley discovered a mutilated dog near a Northwest Austin dumpster by her work. She suspects it was a pit bull that appears to have been burned, a likely case of abuse. See this post for more background. As a direct result of Vicki's persistence, this case has received prominent TV coverage and is being actively investigated by local police. Recently, PeTA stepped in to offer a $2500 reward to help find the person or people responsible for this horrific crime.
Those that attended the vigil set up a memorial of flowers, candles, and cards. Vicki spoke in Sweetie's honor and also used the opportunity to urge everybody in attendance to spread the word and keep up pressure on the city to find those responsible.
Ernest spoke as well, providing some facts about the practices involved in dogfighting (stealing pets to be used as bait, killing dogs that aren't aggressive enough, etc.). Ernest also distributed flyers that we will be posting at local businesses, publicizing the $2500 reward and asking for those with information to come forward.
Local media was on hand to cover the event:
Take Action
There are a number of things we can all do to keep this case alive. Here is a list to get you started:
- Talk - Ask everybody you know if they saw or heard about the news stories. Use this to start conversations and share information.
- Call - Call the TV/radio stations that covered the event. Tell them you saw the story and want to know when they are going to follow up with their own investigation into the facts.
- Comment - Follow the links above to read the news stories and then add your own comments about how you feel. The TV/radio stations read these comments -- they want to know what topics interest their viewers.
- Post flyers - Post our flyers publicizing the reward around town. Click here to download the flyer: Dog Reward Flyer.
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Vicki sent me a website address that details Texas Animal Cruelty Law. I think it would behoove us to review it in order to have a strong platform to stand on regarding Sweetie's case and other animal cruelty cases that present themselves.
The address is: http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddustxcruelty.htm#scope
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Sweetie
Thank you for everything you did for Sweetie Vicki! I really admire how you grabbed hold of this ugly sitiuation and did everything you could to make it right.
Yeap, just what their doing.
That explanation sounds questionable to me too. It sounds more like a convenient way to check this off their list.
Just received a phone call from Detective Dunkin. She is saying, " that the dog (Sweetie) I found was not abused and only a decomposing body. The only crime is illegal dumping.
"She made it clear that she has seen alot of dead bodies and this is what happens over time, the black markings, erosion of the skin, etc.........then the maggots and flys set in."
Anyway the story I have is not the story she has. So the case is closed except for the illegal dumping. I almost feel like an ass, but I still feel she was harmed and dumped. Maybe this story will send
a message to idiots that abuse animals; someone is watching.
--
Vicki McCauley
"Our lives begin to end the
day we become silent about
things that matter."
~Martin Luther King Jr.~
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/15584/TX/US/
I called Alan 2 times and left messages. No replys!
@Vicki -- thanks for posting the link to The Daily Texan article. I just added it to the main blog post.
@Ernest -- thanks for the info re: the APD animal cruelty investigator (scroll down in the comments for this important info). If anybody is able to get through, please post a comment here telling us what you learned. I'm going to try calling this afternoon...
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/state-local/dog-s-brutal-death-prompts-community-outrage-1.1771977
Just got this from Donna:
At the Petsmart at 183/Balcones Woods- there was an incident with a group of thugs- had a coupel of pit bulls in the back of their truck..they jumped out and mauled a dog that belonged to the lady that does dog training there..thank God he lived. But these guys drove off and fled the scene-nearby more incidents- my volunteer found mutiliated older kittens which she didn't think was the -so all of this has been reported to the police. THis all about 6-8 months ago-. There are some sick people out there and we need to find them, and hold them accountable
Vicki: Was the neighborhood just east of the Goodwill canvassed with flyers?
Suanne
Does anyone know? Suanne will do this if no-one else has.
Vicki just posted some photos from the vigil. Check them out here.
Thanks, Errol for posting this so quickly. I'd like to add that an Austin police dept. cruelty investigator in on this case. He will not prioritize this unless he hears from the public. That means WE need to call him. His name is Alan Schwettmann. You may reach him at (512) 972-6034. Please make polite and very brief calls to him today letting him know that as an Austinite:
Thank him and give him your name and phone number if he asks for that information.
We need to make sure that local animal cruelty cases like these are fully investigated by the Austin police department. However, they will not prioritize animal abuse in Austin unless we act by calling them to pressure them to act.
Take these important steps and one day Austin will be the most animal-friendly city in the U.S.
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