WEST GOSHEN - The owner of dog that was found burned and dead on Saturday at about 3 a.m. in the 300 block of Coates Street said she would like whomever is responsible to turn themselves into police.
Cora Brown, of Coatesville, spoke on Monday at a press conference about her 4½-year-old Yorkie-Poo named Prince Wooga Wooga Brown, but more commonly known as Woogie. She said the dog was her baby and she is unsure how anyone could have committed the heinous crime.
"I don't know how to make sense of it," Brown said. "I don't know if I could ever understand why it was done."
Animal Protective Services officer Craig Baxter said the initial necropsy found that Woogie was burned after he had died of apparent asphyxiation. He said there was no indication of strangulation or any blunt-force trauma. He also said there was no charring in the lungs or throat of the dog to indicate it was burned alive.
Baxter said the final test results will give investigators a clear picture of exactly what happened and they may be available as soon as Tuesday. He said the dog was 90 percent charred, but its face was left intact and was identified by Brown.
When the dog was found in multiple trash bags on Saturday morning, some of the bags were melted onto the dog, Baxter said. He said a chemical was poured onto the bags and then lit on fire.
Brown said Woogie occasionally left his home, but returned within hours of leaving, so when he disappeared on Friday afternoon, she believed he would return. She said he liked some of the female dogs in the area and she believed Woogie was "just playing with one of his girlfriends." She learned of the investigation into a burned dog on Saturday afternoon and eventually contacted the Chester County SPCA. The dog was found about a tenth of a mile from Brown's home, she said.
Brown said she was relived that Woogie was not burned alive.
"It gives me some sense of relief that he didn't get burned prior to dying," Brown said. "I didn't want my puppy to die, but I do have some relief from that."
Brown said Woogie originally was a graduation present for her daughter in 2008, but she came to be its primary caretaker. A widow of 17 years, she said the dog had become her companion in life. She also said Woogie was instrumental in helping her battle breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2008.
"He was there for me when no one else was," Brown said as she choked up.
Brown said she was glad she was able to see her dog in order to identify him. She said she touched the blanket Woogie was wrapped in and told him "that he didn't have to suffer anymore."
"I'm still in shock," Brown said. "I am hoping he will come running through my door."
The SPCA and outside donors are offering a $3,500 reward for information that leads to a conviction of whomever burned the dog, according to spokesman Rich Britton.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Coatesville police at 610-384-2300 or the SPCA at 610-692-6113, ext. 213.
Follow staff writer Eric S. Smith on Twitter @dailylocaleric.