We had a lump in our throat Saturday when we read that Ember, the Bayview pit bull who had been set on fire, was euthanized due to the severity of her injuries. And before we get any comments/hate mail on why pit bulls are good prospects for euthanasia regardless, let's all think about this again: someone set this animal on fire, and left it to die. This dog fought to live for three weeks before her adopter and vets determined that she was in too much pain and would not survive. No animal deserves that fate.

Meanwhile, the d**khead who did this crime walks among us. We won't bore you with all the literature on the tie between violence against animals and violence against humans, but will say that even if you don't care about someone setting a dog on fire, the next animal they torture might be the two-legged variety. Shouldn't we stop them before that happens?

Animal abusers need to be made aware that their actions will not be tolerated, and to that point a reward fund has been set up to benefit anyone providing information leading to the conviction of those who did this crime. If you yourself have any information on the incident call Animal Care and Control at (415) 554-9400. To contribute to the reward fund (which has grown to over 10K), you can do so by mailing a check or via PayPal here.

heartbreaking photo by The Chronicle's Brant Ward