A memorial near the Pinellas Park mall pays homage to a young pit bull.
By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 4, 2005
PINELLAS PARK - Thousands of drivers traversing one of the county's busiest intersections have been seeing a homemade cross put up to remember a nameless pooch.
Bob McCauley crafted the wooden cross after a young pit bull that amused construction crews was killed in traffic. He installed it in the triangular median where Park Boulevard's right turn lanes merge into U.S. 19, just before the overpass near the former ParkSide mall.
McCauley mounted a photo of the dog and inscribed "RIP, Buddy." The dog hung around the ParkSide construction site for weeks, but no one named it officially. No one wanted to become too attached, said McCauley, 36.
A white New Balance running shoe - one the dog chewed - dangles from one of the cross' arms.
It is common to see crosses, flower displays and other memorials for humans killed on the road. It is rare to see one for an animal.
"I was expecting to be chastised, made fun of," McCauley said. "But people drove by, gave us the thumbs up. I think we touched something universal. Everybody has lost a pet."
Many people have had a chance to react. Every day, 50,000 to 60,000 motorists drive through or near the intersection, according to county traffic planners' latest figures.
The dog, described as black and weighing about 40 pounds, showed up at the construction site about two months ago. Nobody could get rid of it. The dogcatchers couldn't catch it.
The dog received a lot of attention in its short life, even though the workers at the new shopping center project tried to avoid bonding.
"Everybody loved this dog. Everybody was feeding him. He became like a junkyard dog," McCauley said.
"He kind of adopted us."
Despite using the masculine pronoun, McCauley was never sure of the dog's gender. Neither, apparently, was anyone else. Distinguishing characteristics were not obvious, McCauley said. "No one had the courage to find out," he said.
The dog was run over on Park Boulevard a few days ago. Someone removed the remains, but the final disposition wasn't known.
