ohmidog!

A crated dog was set on fire Friday night in West Brandywine Township, Pa., , the Chester County SPCA reports.

The dog was the second to be found fatally burned in Chester County in just over three months.

Wagontown Fire Chief Todd Ziegler was driving on Manor Road about 8 p.m. Friday, when he stopped to investigate what looked like a brushfire near Route 340. He discovered the burning body of a dog in a  crate and called his department, which put out the fire.

A necropsy on the dog was planned at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

On June 9, the charred remains of a Yorkshire terrier mix between 3 and 5 years old was found in the 300 block of Coates Street in Coatesville. The 15- to 20-pound dog had been burned, then placed in a trash bag.

A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in that case, Chester County SPCA spokesman Rich Britton said Saturday.

Tips about both attacks can be reported anonymously by calling the SPCA at 610-692-6113, ext. 213, or by sending an e-mail to cruelty@ccspca.org.

Firefighters extinguishing a trash fire in Coatesville, Pa., found the charred body of a small dog Saturday, and investigators suspect the fire may have been set in connection with abusing the animal, or to cover it up.

The dog appeared to be a male Yorkshire terrier or Yorkie mix and was 3 to 5 years old. He weighed about 15 pounds and had silver, black and tan coloring. The dog’s owner is unknown.

“Foul play is suspected. Coatesville Detective Kevin Campbell told the Delaware County Times. “This dog was dumped in the middle of nowhere.”

Campbell said it hasn’t been determined whether the dog was killed in the fire or killed before it was set. A necropsy is scheduled.

Chester County SPCA spokesman Rich Britton  showed reporters a photograph of a dog that he said likely was similar in appearance to the burned animal. “If this turns out to a criminal act, let me tell you, we’re going to go out there and we’re going to do everything we can with the Coatesville Police Department to bring this person to justice,” Britton said.

“In the eight years that I’ve been here I’ve never seen something so horrific,” Animal Protective Services officer Craig Baxter said. “How someone could do this to a small animal is beyond my belief.”

Animal Protective Services officer Cheryl Shaw emphasized that unwanted animals can always be brought to the SPCA’s shelter. “We’re not going to judge anybody. Please, if you don’t want your animal or can’t keep it for whatever reason, bring it to us,” Shaw said.

Investigators asked that anyone who is missing a dog similar to the burned animal or who has any information call the Coatesville Police Department at 610-384-2300 or the Chester County SPCA at 610-692-6113, ext. 213.

(Photo: Chester County SPCA spokesman Rich Britton holds a picture of a dog he says is similar in appearance to the one found burned in the fire; by Michael N. Price / Delaware County Times)

 
They left the choppers at home (too cold), but members of Rescue Ink arrived in Pennsylvania Friday to help search for the killer of a Chester County family’s two dogs — and promote their TV show at the same time.

The tattooed stars of National Geographic’s TV show “Rescue Ink Unleashed” greeted fans at the Chester County SPCA, and later Friday night at a town hall meeting.

Then they set out to search for the killer of Emma and Luna, two dogs found slain in October.

The dogs were reported missing from a Pocopson Township farm on Oct. 25 and were found later that day several miles away in Pennsbury Township by a resident walking in the woods near railroad tracks along the Brandywine Creek, Britton said. The dogs were shot between the eyes and lined up tail to tail.

Rescue Ink had this message for the perpetrator: “Come find us before we find you.”

Joe Panz, one of the members, said the group plans to spend several days canvassing Chester County neighborhoods. “We’re street guys; we know how to get information from people,” he said.

Members of the New York-based group chatted with visitors at the SPCA Friday, many of them members of the animal-rescue community, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Anyone with information about Emma and Luna is asked to call the Chester County SPCA at 610-692-6113, Ext. 213. A $50,000 reward has been posted.

(Photo: Courtesy of National Geographic Channel)

The reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever shot and killed two dogs in Pennsylvania  has reached $50,000, the Chester County SPCA said yesterday — and the gang at Rescue Ink has joined in the investigation.

The reward fund was established last October after the two family pets were found near the railroad tracks along Brandywine Creek in Pennsbury Township. Both had been shot between the eyes at close range.

Emma, a one-and-a-half-year-old German shorthaired pointer, and Luna, a two-year-old mix of the same breed, had been placed tail to tail, said Rich Britton, spokesman for the Chester County SPCA. The two dogs were reported missing from a Pocopson Township farm Oct. 25.

Today, the search for the killer will get an additional boost from Rescue Ink, a group of tattooed animal rescuers who appear on National Geographic Channel’s Rescue Ink Unleashed, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rescue Ink, which targets animals in danger, will participate in a news conference today at 2 p.m. and meet with the public from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Chester County SPCA, 1212 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester. A town-hall meeting will be held at 7 p.m.  at the Chadds Ford Historical Society, 1736 Creek Rd.