Just received this from a friend who works with Bill Whiting. You may have already read about Edna... Please sign the petition today. Please forward to friends and family. Thanks. -Linda
> From: "William Whiting" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: December 29, 2007 4:10:08 PM EST > To: "William Whiting" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: PLEASE HELP ME > > > PLEASE CROSSPOST!!! WE NEED SIGNATURES! PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE AND ADD YOUR NAME > TO THIS > <http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-a-kidnapped-dog-in-philadelphia> > PETITION AND SEND IT TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. >>>>> >>>>> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-a-kidnapped-dog-in-philadelphia >>>>> <http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-a-kidnapped-dog-in-philadelphia > 1 >>>>> FULL STORY BELOW: >>>>> http://www.network.bestfriends.org/pennsylvania/news/20944.html >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Pennsylvania >>>>> UPDATE: Only 1 day left to sign the Petition! >>>>> >>>>> Phone service provider sends a "busy" signal when owner seeks his dog's >>>>> killers >>>>> November 30, 2007 : 1:33 PM >>>>> >>>>> Click here >>>>> <http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-a-kidnapped-dog-in-philadelphia> >>>>> to sign the petition. Over 3,000 signatures are still needed before the >>>>> petition closes on December 31, 2007. >>>>> >>>>> The reward for information is now up to $10,000 (PETA just offered to add >>>>> $5000 to the PSPCA's $5000 reward). Click here >>>>> <http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=10620&pf=true> to view PETA's >>>>> full press release. >>>>> >>>>> ____________________________________ >>>>> >>>>> Verizon Disconnects 2 Lives >>>>> Phone company's foot-dragging stymies police, owner in search for dog's >>>>> torturers >>>>> >>>>> by Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Daily News >>>>> >>>>> THE LAST TIME Bill Whiting heard his little brown dog, she was >>>>> screaming in pain as t wo miserable bastards tortured her. Whiting heard >>>>> this over the phone as the two monsters demanded money to >>>>> return the Beagle mix. >>>>> >>>>> Her name was Edna, and she was so gentle that Whiting took her to >>>>> hospitals, where patients cheered up as they petted her. Edna had >>>>> pointed bunny ears, warm brown eyes and was Whiting's "constant companion" >>>>> since he adopted her a decade ago. She had never known anything but >>>>> kindness from human hands. >>>>> >>>>> Whiting made sure that Edna always wore her collar. Attached to her collar >>>>> were her vaccination tags, showing she was a healthy dog, and her name tag >>>>> with Whiting's information, showing she was a loved dog. When Edna walked, >>>>> her tags jingled. >>>>> >>>>> Whiting heard the jingling over his Verizon phone as Edna screamed in >>>>> pain. Terrorized, he couldn't imagine what the savages were doing to his >>>>> little brown dog. >>>>> >>>>> He just wanted it to stop - and when he wanted help from Verizon, it came >>>>> very slowly and at a steep price. >>>>> >>>>> Edna d isappeared on Halloween night. A Center City resident, Whiting was >>>>> visiting a friend in the Italian Market area, and he brought Edna along, >>>>> because Edna went everywhere with him. >>>>> >>>>> That evening, with the doorbell being rung every few minutes by >>>>> trick-or-treaters, Edna somehow slipped out, maybe to follow some >>>>> children, because she was a friendly and trusting dog. >>>>> >>>>> When Whiting noticed she was missing, he frantically ran up and down the >>>>> narrow South Philly streets, whistling and calling her name. The next >>>>> morning he put up fliers with her picture, his cell-phone number and the >>>>> promise of a $500 reward for her return. Whiting hoped anyone finding her >>>>> would call, either out of the goodness of his heart or desire for the >>>>> reward. >>>>> >>>>> He waited vainly for 10 days, heart-sick and physically sick over Edna. >>>>> Then, late at night on Nov. 10, the phone rang and he could hardly believe >>>>> what he heard. >>>>> >>>>> He heard two voices that sounded male and young. The first said he was 16, >>>>> his brother was 9 and they had his dog. He wanted Whiting, 57, who works >>>>> for the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and >>>>> Anthropology, to talk with his brother. >>>>> >>>>> At first, Whiting says he could barely understand the younger boy, >>>>> speaking in what he described as "American ghetto slang." Whiting slowly >>>>> realized the boy wanted $600 to ransom Edna. >>>>> >>>>> "I was to bring cash, by myself," at midnight to a location Whiting could >>>>> not decipher. >>>>> >>>>> Whiting agreed to pay the money but not to a midnight meeting. "They said >>>>> they wanted the money now, and told me they'd kill the dog, repeating, >>>>> 'You don't believe me, Mister, let me hurt it so you can hear.' " >>>>> >>>>> Whiting heard Edna yelp in pain. When he heard the jingling of her tags, >>>>> Whiting knew they had his beloved little brown dog. >>>>> >>>>> "I couldn't believe how evil he was," says Whiting. "He said, 'You know, >>>>> Mister, I want to kill your dog.' " >>>>> >>>>> Whiting pleaded with them not to hurt Edna, offering to gi ve them even >>>>> more than $600 if they would keep Edna safe until the morning. >>>>> >>>>> The line went dead. >>>>> >>>>> Whiting immediately called 911 and Philadelphia police took the complaint >>>>> seriously, entering it as extortion. >>>>> >>>>> A few hours later, at 3 a.m., Whiting got a second call from one of the >>>>> monsters. "I've killed your dog, it's dead," he said. The call came in on >>>>> Whiting's land line, which was listed on Edna's name tag but not on the >>>>> fliers he had posted everywhere. >>>>> >>>>> Later that morning, Whiting tried to find the phone number the >>>>> extortionists had used. He called his service provider, Verizon, to tell >>>>> them to release his phone records to police, but it wasn't that simple. >>>>> >>>>> "I made about five calls and kept getting people who were good at passing >>>>> the hot potato," Whiting says. He was told police know the procedure. >>>>> >>>>> The detective working the case, who asked me not to use his name, says he >>>>> got a search warrant and faxed it to Verizon on Nov. 16, but it took 12 >>>>> days before he got a list of calls made to Whiting. The city was charged >>>>> $150 for the search. >>>>> >>>>> Verizon charged police $150? >>>>> >>>>> In most cases, says Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski, "the company >>>>> charges no fee or a nominal one," but in a "very small percentage of >>>>> cases, Verizon will charge reimbursement fees for gathering information it >>>>> does not routinely maintain." >>>>> >>>>> The fee covers some of Verizon's costs and it makes no profit, he says. In >>>>> a wired world, I find both the slow service and the high cost hard to >>>>> swallow. >>>>> >>>>> A crime has been committed. Another police source tells me the service is >>>>> no better for other crimes, such as kidnapping, when time is crucial. >>>>> >>>>> In Edna's case, the detective says, he must now get another search warrant >>>>> to connect the phone numbers he has to subscribers. He couldn't say what >>>>> the charge would be or how long it would take. >>>>> >>>>> More delay and more expense. >>>>> >>>>> Bill Whiting believes Edna was heartless ly killed by the savages who >>>>> called him. (You see her picture. If you recall seeing someone with the >>>>> dog, call police detectives at 215-686-3093 or -3094.) >>>>> >>>>> Whiting will live for a long time, maybe forever, with the pain of hearing >>>>> his little brown dog tortured. But he doesn't want Edna to have died in >>>>> vain. As her legacy, he wants the phone companies to act faster and >>>>> cheaper. He thinks telecommunications companies should provide free >>>>> assistance to police "as a public service. It's not like they have a >>>>> narrow profit margin." >>>>> >>>>> He's right. Who'll get the ball rolling? >>>>> >>>>> Another story on Edna was also posted on the South Philly Review website >>>>> <http://southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=6340> . >>>>> >>>>> A video of Bill speaking about the situation was posted on >>>>> ksn.com <http://www.ksn.com/news/also/11483041.html> >>>>> >>>>> How You Can Help >>>>> Did you see Edna? Any information connected to her disappearan ce should >>>>> be communicated to the detectives assigned to the case (see article and >>>>> contact information, below). >>>>> >>>>> Contact the police detectives at 215-686-3093 or 215-686-3094. >>>>> >>>>> To help Bill's case write letters, send e-mails, and make phone calls to >>>>> all contacts listed below. >>>>> >>>>> Also, the Pennsylvania SPCA is treating this case as a cruelty >>>>> investigation, as described on their website: >>>>> "The PSPCA is offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the >>>>> arrest and prosecution of all parties involved with the disapperance of >>>>> Edna - a beagle mix that has been missing from her Philadelphia home since >>>>> October 31, 2007 - should animal cruelty be discovered in this case. An >>>>> anonymous concerned citizen has offered an additional $3,000 reward. The >>>>> PSPCA will investigate any and all leads in this case. To contact the >>>>> PSPCA with a tip, call 215-426-6300." >>>>> http://www.pspca.org/services/investigations >>>>> <http://www.pspca.org/services/investigations> >>>>> >>>>> Contact Information >>>>> Contact Reporter Stu Bykofsky at >>>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>> or 215-854-5977 >>>>> http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/11909697.html >>>>> >>>>> Contact the Mayor of Philadelphia to express your concerns about the >>>>> situation and how the Mayor intends to address it. >>>>> >>>>> Executive Office of the Mayor >>>>> Room 215 City Hall >>>>> Philadelphia, PA 19107 >>>>> 215-686-2181 >>>>> E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>> >>>>> Contact the Police Department of Philadelphia to express your concerns >>>>> about how the Police have handled this case so far. >>>>> >>>>> Sylvester M. Johnson, Police Commissioner >>>>> Philadelphia Police Department >>>>> One Franklin Square >>>>> Philadelphia, PA 19106 >>>>> 215-686-1776 >>>>> 215-686-3053 >>>>> >>>>> Managing Director, Loree Jones, 215-686-3480 >>>>> Barbara Kopecki, Assistant Managing Director 215-686-3482 >>>>> >>>>> Contact Verizon to express your conc erns about their policies. >>>>> >>>>> Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman & CEO >>>>> Verizon Communications >>>>> 140 West Street >>>>> New York, NY 10007 >>>>> 800-621-9900 >>>>> >>>>> William B. Petersen, President >>>>> Verizon - Pennsylvania >>>>> 1717 Arch Street >>>>> Philadelphia, PA 19103 >>>>> >>>>> or >>>>> >>>>> Jim Reed, Director - External Affairs, Southeastern (Counties: >>>>> Philadelphia) >>>>> Verizon-Pennsylvania >>>>> 215-466-4838 >>>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>> >>>>> Reprinted with the permission of Stu Bykofsky, >>>>> Philadelphia Daily News >>>>> Pictured are Edna with Bill Whiting, prior to Edna's disappearance >>>>> Photo provided by Bill Whiting and Philadelphia Daily News
