Chicago Hot Dog Found Beaten, Slathered In Ketchup

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A hot dog was found severely beaten on a Chicago sidewalk, apparently because it was slathered in ketchup.

With its seedless bun separated, the dog was found on the North Side.

"There was ketchup everywhere," one witness reported. A horrible image of the scene was posted on Reddit.

Chicago police have retrieved surveillance footage of the altercation (because those cameras are everywhere, people!) but have made no arrests.

"We believe the offender was upset that somebody had put ketchup on the hot dog," one police source said.

The beating upset activists, who have been waging a pro-ketchup campaign to thwart what they say is the ill-conceived idea that only mustard can adorn a Chicago hot dog.

They have launched the "It's OK To Put Ketchup On A Hot Dog" Facebook page, generating millions of likes.

Two years ago, following a summit meeting involving hot dog stand owners across Chicago, the group issued a communique urging Chicagoans to accept that many people like ketchup on their hot dogs.

At the time, the meeting resulted in a compromise. They agreed that a hot dog with ketchup could not be classified as a "Chicago-style hot dog" but that it was acceptable for both children and adults to order a red hot with ketchup, provided that they agreed to simply call it a hot dog with ketchup.

A multi-million dollar public service campaign, financed with Mayor Emanuel's red light ticket camera money, ran for months.

However, rebel factions have held out and have been launching rouge attacks, which have increased in the past six months, police said.

"This nonsense about ketchup or no ketchup has to stop," one neighborhood resident said.

Over on the Chicago Reddit page, the reaction was heated:  "Born and raised in Chicago," one person wrote. "I put ketchup on that hotdog. I put it on everything. Come find me; I'm ready to fight about it."