LONGVIEW, Wash. — Dozens of people gathered at a vigil Friday night to remember two dogs that were allegedly gunned down in what appears to be a case of retaliation.
“Friendly, loving,” said Luke Moore. “They’d snuggle you, hug you.”
Moore is referring to 3-year-old Link and 2-year-old Marley, full-bred huskies.
“I’ve never seen a mean bone, not once, in them,” Moore said.
Moore says on the night of Sept. 6 Link and Marley, along with their pup Oscar, escaped from Moore’s Longview home.
“We searched the neighborhoods,” he said. “Looked around for hours.”
The search turned up nothing. Then Moore noticed a Facebook post from a woman saying the dogs were at John Null Park. The woman said a man was loading Link and Marley into a truck. He was leaving Oscar behind.
About a week later Moore received a call from the Cowlitz County Humane Society. It was in reference to the man who allegedly took the dogs.
“He shot them both and then dumped them in the river.”
But why? Moore says authorities told him it was all about retaliation. The man is suspected of killing the dogs because they supposedly killed his cat earlier in the summer.
“I’ve felt the rage,” said Amber Cooke, Moore’s friend. “I’ve had a cat killed by a dog so I understand but I don’t understand being able to kill someone else’s animal over it.”
That feeling was echoed by everyone at the Friday night vigil, including Moore.
“You can’t go pick up some dogs and take it in your own hands and kill them,” said Moore.
Link and Marley may be gone forever, but judging by the size of the vigil crowd, they will not be forgotten.
“To me, they’re not animals,” said Moore. “They’re my kids.”
Moore says the suspected shooter, who has not been identified, has not been charged with any crime. He says the Cowlitz County Humane Society is investigating.