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Animal Abuse Puts Strain On Local Shelters

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Oct 25, 2009 6:56 pm US/Eastern

Animal Abuse Puts Strain On Local Shelters

BALTIMORE (WJZ) ― Several incidents of animal cruelty have local shelters strapped for cash.

Jessica Kartalija reports new efforts are underway to raise more money to protect animals from abuse.

It was a brutal case of animal abuse. A pit bull was doused with gasoline and set on fire. The dog later died in a Pennsylvania animal shelter.

Then witnesses in a Pimlico neighborhood told police boys tortured an 8-month-old kitten.

"They caught her and poured a liquid on her and then set her on fire. She panicked, rolled around to get the fire out and they set her on fire again," said a witness.

In the past few months, there have been at least five cats tortured.

"It's just atrocious that someone would do that to an animal, it makes you think 'What would they do to a person?" said Tracy Driscoll, a dog owner.

In Baltimore's Patterson Park, Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter held its annual fundraiser "Barcstoberfest" to raise money for abused animals.

"The animal comes in very thin or with a loss of hair because they've had fleas so bad, things like that. We see that on a daily basis," said Debra Rahl from BARCS.

The goal of the event is to also teach people about the importance of being kind to animals.

Karma Dogs started after the story of the pit bull surfaced.

"It's a pledge where we ask kids to be kind to animals, to tell their friends to be kind to animals and to tell an adult if they see an animal being hurt," said Kelly Gould of Karma Dogs.

BARCS hopes to raise a few thousand dollars.

"All the other money helps us pay for vaccinations, food, stuff like that for all the animals that come," said Rahl. 

BARCS takes in about 12,000 animals each year. They rely on fundraisers like "Barcstoberfest" to keep those animals alive.

The fundraiser also included a strut your mutt walk and a booth for microchipping your dog.

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