Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – Targeted Pet Treats presented Tucker, the chocolate lab mix whose bark led to the eventual capture of Michael Burham, with a year’s supply of dog treats on Friday as a reward for his efforts.
See the reward presentation:
Tucker, along with owners Ron and Cindy Ecklund, was presented the treats, along with a large dog bed full of toys, in front of TPT’s Struthers Street Plant Friday afternoon.
“Thanks for coming out this afternoon as we celebrate our hometown hero Tucker Ecklund,” TPT President Greg Austin said. “As you all know Tucker was instrumental in the capture of Michael Burham, who had the city and the county of Warren on edge for the last few weeks. After hearing his story, of Tucker and the Ecklunds, many people in the community just approached me to say ‘Hey, what can Targeted do for the family?’ Without hesitation, we thought we can do something. We will do something.”
That something was to provide Tucker with a year’s supply of the company’s Chewsday and Andy & Audi treats, the large bed, and a goody back for Ron and Cindy, too.
“As dog owners, pet advocates, we live by the motto ‘Enhance the lives of pets every day,'” Austin said. “We strive to do what’s right for the pet population by providing healthy, delicious, and nutritious treats. So what do you do when your dog has been a good boy, a good dog? You give em a treat. So in today’s case we want to bless Tucker with a year’s supply of our Andy & Audi and Chewsday brand treats. Along with the treats we want to give Tucker this beautiful, big, large dog basket. Just a privilege and an honor and thank you guys for coming out, thank you for the opportunity to allow us to bless Tucker. And thank you to just for the community and your help in just putting this at bay and allowing us all to sleep at night. It’s a real treat. Thanks for coming out. Thank you Tucker for what you do, your effort did not go unnoticed. We appreciate you.”
Tucker’s barking alerted Ron and Cindy Ecklund to Burham’s presence on their property on the afternoon of July 15. The couple had a brief interaction with Burham who told them he was “camping,” before they returned to their residence and called 911 just before 4 p.m. By 5:50 p.m., Burham was in custody.
While Tucker may not understand what all the attention is about, Ron Ecklund said the last two weeks have been filled with community members offering their thanks.
“He doesn’t understand, but we’re thankful (because) that means the community is thankful,” Ron said. “It’s been crazy, a lot of interviews, and a lot of talking with friends and a lot of thanks from the community, which we really appreciate it, and they appreciate what we did. it’s been exciting. And it was scary at first, but it’s better now. Everywhere we go, people thank us, you know, and where we work at Lowe’s people are in there all day. And Cindy and I are both there. And everybody comes in thanks us and recognizes us and appreciate what happened.”
Burham is currently being held in Erie County (Pa.) Prison on felony escape charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Aug. 21.
