Tortured puppy memorialized at Olney vigil

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 bitten.

Animal rights advocates, their pets - and even a couple city councilmen - assembled late Thursday afternoon in Barrett Playground on 8th Street and Duncannon Avenue 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 mixed-breed one-year old female was found dead, suspended from a jungle gym 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 in the case, 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 Humane Society of the United States are combining to offer a $4500 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," Councilman-at-large Jack Kelly said to a nodding crowd. "We have to stamp them out."

As the pack 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 CEO. "So we give them all names."