Community Steps Up To Help Woman Whose Dog Was Beaten To Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A small town northeast of St. Paul is rallying around a woman whose small dog was beaten to death earlier this month.

The Pioneer Press reports that 73-year-old Gemma Barry, of Willernie, found her 8-year-old bichon frise Frodo severely beaten on Jan. 12. The dog suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and wounds to his face.

He died at an emergency veterinary clinic hours later.

Barry believed the culprit was one of her renters, a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin. She immediately kicked him out of her house, even before getting his rent for January.

Barry, who moved to Minnesota from Ireland 40 years ago and currently lives on a fixed income, is now seeing an outpouring of support from her community in Willernie, a town of about 500 people, just south of Mahtomedi.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Barry pay for Frodo's veterinary bill, which totaled $2,700.

"We all love Gemma and know that she would help us out in our time of need," wrote Shannon Belflower, the creator of the GoFundMe page. She added: "Hopefully, we can raise enough that she won't have to worry about having a roommate for a while."

Donations are also being accepted at a local restaurant, where Barry is a volunteer hostess, The Pioneer Press reports. As of Tuesday, the restaurant, Roma Restaurant and Brewery, has raised nearly $1,000 in donations.

In the days since Frodo's death, Barry also adopted a rescue dog, a Pomeranian named Marley.