TWENTY LASHES LATER -- Franklin D. Campbell, 20, is shown being led from Muncie City Court by Patrolman Mann Tabor after receiving 20 lashes with a policeman's belt when he pleaded guilty in court to pouring gasoline on a puppy and setting it afire.
Muncie Evening Press, 17 June 1963
Business Has Suffered
Employer of Dog Burner Says Youth Still Has a Job
The employer of Franklin D. Campbell, who pleaded guilty last week to setting fire to a dog, believes his business may be suffering as a result of the incident.
Hubert H. Birt, owner of Birt's Standard Service, Walnut and McGalliard, feels some of his customers may be deserting him because of something with which he had nothing to do.
He says his business fell off noticeably last week. On Saturday he did only about $200 worth of business against a normal Saturday volume of $500.
Birt emphasized that the puppy burning incident did not happen at the station; it took place at Campbell's home.
"If he had done that at the station I would have fired him on the spot," Birt said.
However, he does not intend turning his back on Campbell, he says.
"I don't believe in pushing a man further down when he is already down. If the good Lord is willing, I am going to put him back to work when he gets out of jail."
DETROITER ASKED ABOUT INCIDENT
Campbell, who was given the Judge Walter Tanner version of the old British Navy punishment of "rump and dozen" or "caning on the breach," is also serving a 10-day jail sentence.
The incident has apparently become somewhat of a cause celebre.
Birt said a motorist from Detroit stopped in the station Saturday seeking directions to Ball State College and asked him, "Is this the station where the boy burned the dog?"
Birt was highly laudatory of Campbell as an employe.
"The boy has worked for me for 13 months and has always treated me fair and square. I've trusted him with as much as $2,000".
He said Campbell was remorseful about what he did to the dog and told him prior to his arrest that he had done something for which he would be sorry for the rest of his life.
BIRT DENOUNCES CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Birt said he advised Campbell to plead guilty and take his punishment. But he wouldn't have done it, he added, if he had known Campbell was to be whipped.
"I don't believe in that kind of punishment and helped fight a war against it," he said.
.....
Muncie Star, 18 June 1963
Letters Pour In
Burned Pup May Make It, Says Veterinarian
(extracts)
By Larry Shores
"She's coming along better and I believe she's going to make it."
Those were the words of Dr. N.R. Miller, of the Maplewood Animal Clinic, when he was asked Monday about the condition of the young puppy set on fire recently by a 20-year-old filling station attendant.
The youth was sentenced to "twenty lashes, pants down," when he pleaded guilty to a charge of cruelty to animals in City Court. The punishment was administered by the court bailiff, Jack Young.
Dr. Miller said the dog is eating well and that the injured tissue is beginning to fill in around her left hind leg.
Miller said he and several other persons involved in the dog's fight for survival have received correspondence from all over the country asking about the dog's condition.
Gets Many Offers
Mrs. George Brown, of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said she has received numerous calls and letters from persons wishing to "adopt" the puppy if she recovers.
"A man from Brown Summit, N.C., even offered to pay airplane shipping expenses to have her sent to his home," Mrs. Brown declared. "He said he wanted to try and make up for the mistreatment the dog has received."
.....
Judge Walter G. Tanner, who passed sentence on the youthful offender has been kept busy answering mail of his own.
Tanner received 87 letters and nine post cards on Monday alone to add to the staggering stack of more than 200 which had piled up already.
Last Friday he received a cablegram from Perth, Australia, which read, "Bravos and Salutations!" and was signed by Victor Borge, the famed Danish comedian.
Monday's letters included postmarks from such far-away places as Toronto, Ont. and even Southampton, Eng. -- the latter carrying five neatly-placed stamps bearing the likeness of Queen Elizabeth.
But Tanner's favorite, and the one which he says sums up the situation best, was from a man in Chula Vista, Calif. The letter congratulated the judge for his stiff penalty to the defendant and then concluded: "I thought the last angry man was fictional. Wrong again!"
Muncie Evening Press, 20 June 1963
Spunky Is "Better Than Expected"
Spunky may be a healthy dog again some day, Dr. N.R. Miller of the Mapelwood Animal Shelter, 703 Granville Ave., said today.
He cautioned, however, that recovery will take time due to the nature of the dog's injuries. Spunky was badly burned several days ago when a 20-year-old man poured gasoline on him and touched a match to the dog.
Dr. Miller said the animal is "coming along pretty good, and doing much better than had been expected."
That Spunky's plight is world-wide news was evidenced when Mrs. Roxie Poore, 2213 S. Vine St., received a letter from her daughter, Mrs. Junior Hicks in Tokyo, Japan.
The Japanese newspaper carried an account of the incident, together with a picture of Franklin D. Campbell ....
