As Jules would say: "That's some fucked up, repugnant shit right there."

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
[quote author=http://www.c-dh.net/articles/2008/12/03/top_stories/05dog.txt]Burned dog found in east Columbia

By D. FRANK SMITH/dfsmith@c-dh.net

After a pit bull’s body was set on fire in east Columbia, authorities say they’re puzzled over whether or not the incident can be classified as a crime.

The dog was found still burning on the corner of Glade and East 10th streets about 5:30 p.m. by emergency personnel, and it was reportedly deceased before being set on fire, one resident said.

Because the fire took place postmortem, Columbia Police Officer Josh Garner said he’s put in a difficult position in pursuing prosecution.

“As heinous as it is, I don’t know that a crime has been committed as far as the legal books are concerned,” he said.

Witnesses to the Monday incident say they heard a group of juveniles in the area yelling just before the fire broke out.

“They did hear a male and female yelling ... “Stop! Stop! That’s enough!” according to the police report.

Garner said he smelled a strong odor of kerosene at the scene, indicating that was likely the catalyst for the fire.

The dog had been friendly with those in the neighborhood and was known to appear in the area from time to time, said one resident of Glade Street who wished to remain anonymous.

Sgt. Wayne Prince of the Columbia Police Department found an open can of what appeared to be kerosene, with excess fuel spilled around it, at a residence on Glade Street, according to the report. The owner of the can said it was used to fill a lawnmower. The can was taken into custody to check for prints.


Jay Armstrong said he saw the dog about noon Monday, lying on the sidewalk near where it was later found dead. Armstrong said he had nudged the dog to see if it was all right.

“It got up and ran off, but its back legs weren’t working very well,” he said.

Hours later, Janet McCoy found a dead pitbull in her yard, according to the report.

She contacted the city’s Streets Department, who instructed her to move the dog to her driveway where it could be picked up and properly disposed of.

But before they arrived, the animal had been set on fire.

Garner said there are no plans for an autopsy, and he is relying on McCoy’s testimony about the dog’s condition.

ANIMAL ABUSE LINKED TO HUMAN ABUSE

Scott Heiser, an attorney with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said animal cruelty is often reflected in other kinds of violence.

“People who engage in animal cruelty are five times more likely to engage in more serious forms of violence against humans,” Heiser said, quoting research done by his firm.

Heiser added that it has been documented that many high-profile serial killers had abused animals prior to torturing and killing humans.

“People who profile serial killers will tell you that animal cruelty in younger years in combination with fire starting and bed wetting are all strong indicators they could become very serious threats to the community,” he said.

Mary Ruth Rogers, former president of the Maury County Animal Shelter Association, said animal control officers have been negligent in their duty to patrol the city for stray animals.

“They need to get someone out there rolling on the streets 24/7,” she said. “This is just awful and it's just a reflection of how the people of the world are considering their pets as a disposable item.”

Story created Dec 03, 2008 - 16:33:34 EST. [/quote]
One of the worst stories I've had to cover this year... and that includes a double homicide. Just thought I'd spread the joy.

We got some anon tips today that say burning dogs alive is often used for gang initiations, and we have many rival gangs here -- offshoots of the Crips and Bloods (yes, they're real). If that is indeed the case, these kids fucked up because the dog was already dead, and I reported the shit out of this story.
 
Cool report.. shitty incident. It's hardly what I'd call extreme though. In some countries women get gang raped and set on fire while they're still ALIVE. Still I think this is one of the worst: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/01/amnesty.rape.somalia.ap/index.html
getting raped against your will and being sentenced to death for it. WTF doesn't quiet sum it up.

Anyway back to the article, it's well written.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, well I kinda meant fucked up for my city. Obviously there are worse things that happen in the wide world.
 
Walter said:
Yeah, well I kinda meant fucked up for my city. Obviously there are worse things that happen in the wide world.

Quite true. Although if the dog was already dead I see no problem with cremating the remains. though in this case it appears the individuals set in on fire purely for the sake of seeing what would happen. You could be dealing with some pyromaniacs or some disturbed individuals.
the "stop stop" may have indicated that the individuals thought the kerosene was enough to burn the dog to a crisp.

Imo the two most important facts to pay attention to is the dogs initial cause of death and the motive behind burning a dead dog.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Vampire_Hunter_Bob said:
The police are going to investigate this?
The police are wondering if it's even a crime. If they can't find a way to charge the suspects, there's not much more to investigate. The barrier is they aren't interested in getting an autopsy done, so they're going to let it hang on the witness' testimony that the dog was indeed dead prior to the fire. I find it hard to believe, personally, that the dog conveniently died of natural causes just hours before it was set fire to.

And Barbara Walters does armchair journalism. I take it 2 tha streetz. :troll:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Scott Heiser, an attorney with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said animal cruelty is often reflected in other kinds of violence.

“People who engage in animal cruelty are five times more likely to engage in more serious forms of violence against humans,” Heiser said, quoting research done by his firm.

The man's got a point. If those guys had burned a dog alive, I'd be worried about them trying it on people next.

Ramen4ever said:
getting raped against your will

As opposed to consenting to a rape.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Censoring posts (that contain only text, and no cursing whatsoever, only a derogatory opinion towards pitbulls), specially in a Berserk board is of extreme pedantic faggotry. Or just simply ironic.
I guess i'm not allowed to say that the fact that pitbulls are a violent race of dogs lessened the effect this news had in me. I should've just posted something like "wtf dude that shit's crazy" and move on.
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
NightCrawler said:
Censoring posts (that contain only text, and no cursing whatsoever, only a derogatory opinion towards pitbulls), specially in a Berserk board is of extreme pedantic faggotry. Or just simply ironic.
I guess i'm not allowed to say that the fact that pitbulls are a violent race of dogs lessened the effect this news had in me. I should've just posted something like "wtf dude that shit's crazy" and move on.

Pitbulls are great dogs it's not their fault if they are raised wrong. Just because you hear on the news about the, evil Pitt Bulls killing our kids, doesn't make it true. These dogs have been around for a long time and are only getting a bad name because of their bad owners who raised them wrong.

I highly recommend you read up on Pitt Bulls so you can stop making ignorant comments about a great breed of dog. Here's a place to start: http://www.austinlostpets.com/kidskorner/2October/pitbull.htm
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
Censoring posts (that contain only text, and no cursing whatsoever, only a derogatory opinion towards pitbulls), specially in a Berserk board is of extreme pedantic faggotry. Or just simply ironic.

I'm not the one who deleted your post, but I'll still go ahead and tell you that I don't think it was a big loss. If anything it was a favor done to you in that it concealed your ignorant views, insensitiveness and plain old dickish attitude. So I wouldn't call it an act of censorship but the removal of unneeded rubbish.

NightCrawler said:
I guess i'm not allowed to say that the fact that pitbulls are a violent race of dogs lessened the effect this news had in me. I should've just posted something like "wtf dude that shit's crazy" and move on.

Pit Bulls aren't "godless killing machines" any more than German Shepherds or Rottweilers are. They're loving animals unless mistreated, like most dogs.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Unneed rubbish is your condescending attitude! Have you ever owned one? Have you ever spent more than two years with one? I love animals and i have had inumerous pets, but some are just that, animals, and when you least expect, these loving creatures snap! "Ah it's the owners fault", fuck that, i had my share, i spent alot of time with one and it's impressive how temperamental they can be. These beasts don't fuck around. And like i said, i have experience with animals, and after i saw some of the pitbulls reactions i totally changed my mind. And i'm not talking about it attacking me or my family, they're a danger to others, and in no way do you think you can control a pitbull when some unpredicted shit happens. Even when you think you know this dog.
One of my best friends is a veterinary and she definitely recommended me and my family not to adopt certain breeds of dogs after that.
A law in Portugal to prohibit adoption of some dog races is in course, and i'm in favour.
I don't wanna talk about this anymore, i just believe censorship is stupid, specially when i didn't insult anyone (except the pitbulls, but that was done tongue in cheek, like most of my comments). If you don't like my opinion why don't you just ban me?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
Unneed rubbish is your condescending attitude!

I'm not condescending, just speaking the truth. You don't honestly think you've been making quality posts in this thread, do you? "THANK GOD IT WAS A PIT!" :schierke:

NightCrawler said:
Have you ever owned one? Have you ever spent more than two years with one?

I know a number of people that have had Pit Bulls for many years, and I've known some of those pets for quite a while as well, yes. And I've got a professional dog handler in my family, who (among other things) specifically trains attack dogs and the like as a part of his job.

NightCrawler said:
I love animals and i have had inumerous pets, but some are just that, animals, and when you least expect, these loving creatures snap! "Ah it's the owners fault", fuck that, i had my share, i spent alot of time with one and it's impressive how temperamental they can be. These beasts don't fuck around. And like i said, i have experience with animals, and after i saw some of the pitbulls reactions i totally changed my mind. And i'm not talking about it attacking me or my family, they're a danger to others, and in no way do you think you can control a pitbull when some unpredicted shit happens. Even when you think you know this dog.

Now if you'd said that in the first place, your post, while still out of place, would have at least made more sense. I can't comment much on your personal experience with that dog, but allow me to say that dogs are individuals and that their temperament can greatly vary from one to the next, regardless of the breed (same for most animals). I've seen labradors (the ultimate family dog) that were put down because they'd become dangerous, and I've known a Bull Terrier that you could have probably beaten to death without it defending itself. I could give you a really long list of counter-examples like that, and that's just my personal experience. I'm sure other members could chime in.

You know, before Pit Bulls started getting so much media attention based on tales of how their jaws would lock themselves in a deadly grip and whatnot, German Shepherds were the black sheep. Yet despite the still high number of incidents involving them, I don't hear about them in the media that much anymore. The bottom-line is that any dog can be dangerous, and that as a large pet it's the owner's responsability to be able to control it in permanence.

Let me tell you a little story to illustrate my point. My family had a German Shepherd when I was young. Awesome dog, cutely mischievous and generally adorable. I've only got fond memories of this dog, and he's never bitten anyone, was never particularly aggressive with other dogs or animals. Hell, my cats used to jump on him and he wouldn't mind. But I was told that once, when I was too young to remember, he almost killed a stranger. I was playing in the grass in a park and a gardener walked in my general direction with a rake. For some reason the dog thought he was threatening me. He dashed 25m in a matter of seconds and went straight for the guy's throat. My father saw it in time and ordered him to stop, and he did. Simple as that. The poor guy with the rake was shitting his pants and for good reason. Now keep in mind, this wasn't a dog we'd train to attack people. He just reacted instinctively to protect the people he loved. Had he not been properly trained I'm sure this would have been a tragedy, that guy would have been hurt and the dog put down. It's one just incident, but it can easily be one too many.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Hey NightCrawler, I can do whatever the fuck I want with my own thread. That includes removing posts that I find insensitive. Likewise, if someone makes a thread and they find posts insensitive, they can send moderators a message and it may be removed. Peace out.

Also, this isn't a Berserk board. It's Shootin' the Breeze.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Aazealh said:
I'm not condescending, just speaking the truth. You don't honestly think you've been making quality posts in this thread, do you? "THANK GOD IT WAS A PIT!" :schierke:

I know a number of people that have had Pit Bulls for many years, and I've known some of those pets for quite a while as well, yes. And I've got a professional dog handler in my family, who (among other things) specifically trains attack dogs and the like as a part of his job.

Now if you'd said that in the first place, your post, while still out of place, would have at least made more sense. I can't comment much on your personal experience with that dog, but allow me to say that dogs are individuals and that their temperament can greatly vary from one to the next, regardless of the breed (same for most animals). I've seen labradors (the ultimate family dog) that were put down because they'd become dangerous, and I've known a Bull Terrier that you could have probably beaten to death without it defending itself. I could give you a really long list of counter-examples like that, and that's just my personal experience. I'm sure other members could chime in.

You know, before Pit Bulls started getting so much media attention based on tales of how their jaws would lock themselves in a deadly grip and whatnot, German Shepherds were the black sheep. Yet despite the still high number of incidents involving them, I don't hear about them in the media that much anymore. The bottom-line is that any dog can be dangerous, and that as a large pet it's the owner's responsability to be able to control it in permanence.

Let me tell you a little story to illustrate my point. My family had a German Shepherd when I was young. Awesome dog, cutely mischievous and generally adorable. I've only got fond memories of this dog, and he's never bitten anyone, was never particularly aggressive with other dogs or animals. Hell, my cats used to jump on him and he wouldn't mind. But I was told that once, when I was too young to remember, he almost killed a stranger. I was playing in the grass in a park and a gardener walked in my general direction with a rake. For some reason the dog thought he was threatening me. He dashed 25m in a matter of seconds and went straight for the guy's throat. My father saw it in time and ordered him to stop, and he did. Simple as that. The poor guy with the rake was shitting his pants and for good reason. Now keep in mind, this wasn't a dog we'd train to attack people. He just reacted instinctively to protect the people he loved. Had he not been properly trained I'm sure this would have been a tragedy, that guy would have been hurt and the dog put down. It's one just incident, but it can easily be one too many.

I agree with you in some part and i know i'm biased, but i can't be any other way. My story is somewhat similar to yours although this was a 12 year old girl, and she lived to tell the tale with one broken arm and many bruises. I was so shocked to see this, the way the dog reacted, even towards us. And how hard it was to stop it. It felt like a different animal, at that point i didn't knew who this dog was anymore.

Walter if you don't like different opinions, why open a thread in the first place? Were you expecting everyone to have the same feelings as you? I gotta check out the rules in this board, i guess i missed the "insensitive posting" part.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
Walter if you don't like different opinions, why open a thread in the first place?
I didn't have any expectation from the thread really. I guess I just prefer not to see ignorant, shitty opinions in my threads. You basically just added "I am glad the dog is dead," and then ended your grand contribution to the thread. Not sure why you're so miffed at that glorious sparkling gem being erased from the Internet.

I gotta check out the rules in this board, i guess i missed the "insensitive posting" part.
You may also want to review this: "Moderation is never a topic for open discussion. If you have any questions or feedback on moderation it should be addressed to the administrator or moderator of the category via private message."
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
No new charges. No arrests. I talked to an officer who knew the kids, and he said it was totally within those kids' abilities to do something heinous like this.
 
Walter said:
No new charges. No arrests. I talked to an officer who knew the kids, and he said it was totally within those kids' abilities to do something heinous like this.

So at least there are genuine suspects. Even if there is no charge against them, at least if the community knows who the people are and what they did, they can still apply pressure to them and hopefully the kids will wise up. 50 or so hours of community service wouldn't be too bad either... at least if the dog really was dead before the fire.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
I agree with you in some part and i know i'm biased, but i can't be any other way. My story is somewhat similar to yours although this was a 12 year old girl, and she lived to tell the tale with one broken arm and many bruises. I was so shocked to see this, the way the dog reacted, even towards us. And how hard it was to stop it. It felt like a different animal, at that point i didn't knew who this dog was anymore.

Well I understand why you'd feel so strongly about it, because for having seen several dogs (and even a cat...) turn real aggressive, I know how disconcerting it can be. However without the background explained, I think you can imagine how your post looked gratuitous.

Ramen4ever said:
Everyone's getting off topic.

You know, it's not your place to tell people that sort of things. So I kind of wish you'd stop doing it, please.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Ramen4ever said:
So at least there are genuine suspects.
Yeah, but I'd use that term loosely, since as far as the PD is concerned, this still isn't a crime. The people who _likely_ did this (had open kerosine can with spillage on their property) aren't some secret group. They're listed in the police report, and they're aged 12-18. The issue is the authorities can't charge them because of the dubiousness of the crime.
 
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