Community Comes Together For Murdered Dog
There are some good people in the world! Check out this story from the Bradenton Herald.
Donations come in hopes of capturing dog’s killers
MIKE COULTER
Herald Staff Writer
MANATEE – The tragic story of Dumpster the dog has moved many animal-lovers to donate money in hopes of finding the teenagers responsible for shooting the boxer-mix on Sept. 1.“My phone was ringing off the hook, even before I got up this morning,” said Aurora Stark, the dog’s former owner. “We had one elderly gentleman who drove for over an hour and knocked on my door with a 10-dollar bill in his hand.
“The response has been just incredible. There are some great people in this world.”
The story, which was published in Friday’s Herald, unraveled the tale of a puppy who was rescued from a Dumpster, only to be gunned-down eight years later as it walked away from three teenagers riding by on bicycles.
Soon after Dumpster was buried beneath an orange tree in Stark’s backyard, she began posting fliers offering a reward for information leading to the shooters arrests.
Originally, Stark set the reward at $500, an amount she was sure she would be able to raise. Recently, she has asked for donations from the community to help bolster the reward. Immediately after the story was published, the phone calls began.
Bradenton resident Bob McGarry, 57, said that he has been a dog-lover all of his life. His dog, Spunky, is a 10-year-old mixed breed that, like Dumpster, had been rescued from Bishop Animal Shelter.
“I think the only thing worse than hurting people is hurting animals,” said McGarry. “It breaks my heart to think that three kids could destroy a loving animal like that.”
McGarry, a licensed mental health expert, not only pledged $100 of his money, but offered his services to Stark, for free, to help her cope with the loss.
“I feel very badly for everybody out there,” said McGarry. “It’s obvious that Dumpster was a bright spot in that neighborhood, and now it has been extinguished.”
