The handwritten note on plain white paper attached with binder clips to the door of Lucky Dogz Doggie Day Care in Wyndmoor reads “Closed Until Further Notice.” A second handwritten note consoles, “RIP Liz.” 

Two weeks have passed since Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Bradley-Shea, 57, owner of Lucky Dogz  – Where Dogs Have Fun – was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of her Wyndmoor, Springfield Township home. Kenneth Shea, 37, her estranged husband, has been charged with first, second, and third-degree murder. He is being held without bail in Montgomery County Correctional Facility awaiting a May 7 hearing.

“I can’t imagine anybody wanting to hurt Elizabeth,”  said Joanne Miller, a Wyndmoor resident who has been taking Charlie, her Australian Shepherd Terrier, to Lucky Dogz for more than 12 years. “My dog loved going there. She was very sweet. She was just fun and loved animals. She was a great person.”

Born in Chestnut Hill, Elizabeth’s family moved to Erdenheim where she attended Springfield Township schools, according to her obituary. Known as a hard worker, Elizabeth started a cleaning business, taught aerobics, and had two sons with her ex-husband Paul Bradley while earning an associate’s degree at Montgomery County Community College. 

After having her third son, she graduated from Animal Behavior College and became a certified dog trainer. In 2011, she opened Lucky Dogz, realizing her biggest dream. Lucky Dogz “became a sanctuary for employees and an amazing place for dogs,” according to her obituary. 

Elizabeth struggled during the pandemic but kept Lucky Dogz open. The business eventually rebounded and at its peak more than 100 dogs a day were at Lucky Dogz having fun. 

“I think she did a great job running the business,” Miller said. “The people who worked there always seemed friendly and nice. Her sons occasionally worked there and they are just great guys – very responsible and friendly.” 

Shea started working at Lucky Dogz “three or four years ago,” Miller said. She talked to him but didn’t know him well.

“Elizabeth didn’t talk about her estranged husband,” Miller said. “I didn’t know they had a relationship until more recently.”

When Miller last spoke to Elizabeth in December everything seemed normal. In January, however, police responded to a domestic violence call at Elizabeth’s Cromwell Lane home. According to police, Shea had assaulted and strangled Elizabeth before officers arrived. 

On April 9, the day before her death, authorities said that Elizabeth had filed for divorce. The next morning, she didn’t show up for work. Employees asked police to do a welfare check. According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, Springfield police arrived at Elizabeth’s house at 7:30 a.m. and found her  dead on the master bedroom floor with “obvious cut wounds to her head and neck.”

According to the district attorney, Shea entered the house by removing a window air conditioner and crawling through the window. Inside, police found four hard drives from the home’s digital recording units and three cell phones in the bathroom sink and toilet.

Using Uber records, detectives were able to determine that Shea was picked up at 12:36 a.m. by the ride-share service at the Comfort Inn in Feasterville where he was staying. The driver dropped him off at 12:55 a.m. on the street behind Elizabeth’s house. At 3:37 a.m., another Uber driver picked up Shea on the street behind the house and returned to the Comfort Inn at 3:58 a.m. Two hours later, Bensalem Police S.W.A.T. officers arrested Kenneth Shea as he was leaving his room.

Elizabeth’s funeral was held on April 19  in the chapel at the George Washington Memorial Park in Plymouth Meeting. No dogs attended, but many of their owners were among the 350 people there to celebrate her life. 

During the service, Elizabeth was remembered as a hardworking woman devoted to helping people and animals, including her work with the Delaware Valley Pug Rescue and the many pups she fostered and helped re-home. She also worked with hospice programs by assisting with pet therapy. 

“Most importantly,” reads her obituary, “Elizabeth loved her family fiercely and always put them first.”

“There was a lot of community support,” said Miller, who attended the service. “People just loved her and her sons. She was just a compassionate, fun person, and really kind. It is really sad.”

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Elizabeth Shea’s three sons, the youngest of whom is a high school senior. Any funds raised that are not used by the family will be donated in Elizabeth’s name to Laurel House, a comprehensive domestic violence agency.