Bradshaw was also arrested for a bench warrant from Delaware County on an unrelated offense. Arraignment information was not immediately available.
"I am sure he is in jail," Fife said, noting a holiday schedule for the long Memorial Day weekend.
According to Fife, police were dispatched to a residence in the 200 block of Bartram Avenue in Essington for a report of a subject beating a dog, about 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Upon arrival, Otto, described as a mixed breed, was found on the porch. The dog was bleeding from the head and the mouth.
"Tears came to my eyes and pain to my heart," said one man who witnessed the dog’s injuries.
Fife was not at the scene but said he was told that Bradshaw "claimed the dog attacked him." Subsequently, officers received conflicting information.
Township animal control officer Alan Strickler was on the scene and called associate Dave Schlott for assistance, Schlott said Saturday.
"The dog was just laying on the porch in a pool of blood," Schlott said. "He made no sounds.
"He was struggling to breathe," Schlott said.
Schlott said he was told that the dog, which weighed about 80 to 90 pounds, may have jumped up and bit Bradshaw on the lip.
It is suspected that Bradshaw beat the dog with a crowbar. The dog suffered blunt force trauma to the skull.
According to Schlott, he and Strickler got a comforter from inside the house and put it under the dog.
Later, the dog was put in Schlott’s truck and taken to Springfield Veterinary Hospital for initial evaluation. There, it was determined that the dog’s extensive injuries required the attention of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital.
Schlott, who was still at Penn at 6:30 p.m. Friday and admitted he "welled up" a few times throughout the lengthy call, said the veterinarians determined it would be in the best interest of the dog to have it put down.
"I just felt so bad," said Schlott. "This dog was so badly beaten." The dog was euthanized and a necropsy was scheduled to determine the full extent of its injuries.
Schlott said he and many others are interested to learn the results of that final study.
Animal cruelty offense is a misdemeanor under the state crime code. A person convicted of animal cruelty can be sentenced to serve a maximum of two years in jail and be fined. Advocates for animals have long complained that the punishment doled out to convicted animal abusers is too lenient.


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