Wyatt Erb couldn’t look away when he and his wife spotted a dog clinging to life as they walked near a creek in north-east Pennsylvania, Saturday. The lab mix was tied to a rock while inside the rising water.

“The leash was actually hooked to a stone in the ground,” said Erb. “It’s not something the dog could have done by itself."

Erb quickly took action and went inside the Neshaminy Creek, in Bristol Township, north-east of Philadelphia, to get the dog out. Sergeant Thomas Gaffney of the Bristol Police Department believes the action saved the animal’s life.

“She would have drowned more than likely if the water got high enough,” said Gaffney.

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Gaffney says the dog suffered years of abuse and had a tumor on her hind leg that was never treated. He also believes it was the owner who left her tied up inside the creek in an attempt to kill her.

If the dog’s owner is found and has no history of animal cruelty, he or she could only be charged with a fine. Gaffney believes that punishment is not enough however. He vows to work with the District Attorney to stack charges of neglect and abandonment against the owner.

“You could adopt it or humanely euthanize it,” said Gaffney. “You can do many other things but to do what the person did makes no sense.”

In addition to the tumor, the dog also suffered eye infections and is extremely emaciated. She will be taken to the Bucks County SPCA later this week where she will be available for adoption. Police also believe the dog is between 8 and 11 years of age.

Surrogates for President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney projected outward confidence on Sunday in each candidate's ability to win on Election Day.

As the final NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll showed a close race nationally between the two candidates, their top supporters squabbled over who held the upper hand in critical battleground states.

"I'm very confident that, two days out from Election Day, the president's going to be re-elected on Tuesday night," said David Plouffe, a White House adviser who managed the president's 2008 campaign, on "Meet the Press."

There are seven states, worth 89 electoral votes, considered true "toss-up" states on NBC News' battleground map: Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and New Hampshire. Other competitive states include Nevada, which has leaned slightly for Obama in recent polls, and North Carolina, which has tended toward Romney in many recent polls.

"All these states right now, we think the president's in a good position to win," Plouffe said.

Both Obama and Romney spent Saturday barnstorming these battleground states in hope of shoring up their base and shaking loose prized undecided voters in the final hours of the campaign. But their professed confidence belied a much more competitive battle for the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency, especially as an uncertain finale loomed over the 2012 campaign.

The Romney campaign said its Sunday schedule — which took the former Massachusetts governor to Pennsylvania and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan to Minnesota — both states which Republicans have only contested as of late — was a sign of surging national momentum. But Democrats castigated those trips as a sign of desperation, as Romney scrambled for new pathways to 270.

One of the most hotly contested battleground states includes Virginia, which Obama has put into play in 2008 and again in 2012. It also has one of the earliest poll closing times in the nation on Tuesday, and could offer political observers an early indicator of the trend lines in the election.

"We're going to win this state, and I think we're going to win it a lot bigger than people are predicting," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican who represents a Richmond-area district.

He added: "I see here on the ground, there is a lot of enthusiasm for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan."

But political bravado is a well-worn tradition for the closing days of the elections, and Plouffe was quick to seize upon Romney's plans to spend some of his final campaign stops in Virginia and Florida, two states he might not be able to afford losing come Tuesday night.

"We think Gov. Romney's playing defense," the White House aide said of Virginia and Florida. "I'd rather be the president today than Gov. Romney in terms of those two states."

Plouffe also characterized the Obama campaign's position in Iowa and Ohio — two footholds of the president's Midwestern "firewall" — as "commanding," though he cautioned the campaign must execute its get-out-the-vote efforts on Tuesday if it is to secure those states.

Follow the final weekend of the campaign with NBC Politics:

• NBC/WSJ poll: Obama 48, Romney 47
• Clinton joins Obama for rally capping whirlwind day
• Uncertain finale looms amid weekend campaign blitz
• Romney implores Colorado for 'one last push'
• Biden zings Romney in Colorado
• Ryan travels to Pennsylvania, trying to put state in play
• Obama plays up 'trust' in battleground Ohio
• Obama aide explains 'voting is best revenge' comment
• Ryan: 'We believe in change and hope'
• Romney strikes optimistic tone as final weekend opens
• Polls: Obama stays ahead in Ohio, deadlocked with Romney in Fla.
• GOP's chances at Senate imperiled by self-inflicted wounds

Police chiefs are investigating an incident, captured on cell phone video, in which a woman was struck by an officer at the Festival de las Americas after the city's Puerto Rican Day Parade.

The video shows several police officers at Sunday's festival amid a crowd of people. The woman, identified as Aida Guzman of Chester, Pa., is shown being hit by one of the officers and falls to the ground.

For more visit NBCPhiladelphia.com.

"You only see one vantage point, but what you do see is disturbing, I have to be honest about that," said Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross.

The incident happened near 5th and Lehigh streets in North Philadelphia, after the parade on the parkway.  Parade organizers say they had nothing to do with the North Philadelphia event. Officials say Guzman was spraying silly string at officers involved in a traffic stop.

"The guy was out there spinning wheels and burning up tires in the middle of the highway, which is not normal. And we're out there to make sure that stopped. As we're doing it, things are being thrown, liquids are being tossed, substances being sprayed from a can," says Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby.

Guzman was cited for disorderly conduct. Her face was bleeding as officers took her away. She told NBCPhiladelphia.com: "I feel angry, very angry. I go to someplace, got a good time and look this happen, for no reason."

Philadelphia police confirm the officer involved in the incident is Lt. Jonathan Josey. Josey has been with the department for more than 17 years and is a decorated supervisor with the Highway Patrol. He is now on administrative duty.

Internal Affairs is investigating the incident, according to police. The FOP says it will defend Josey "to the end." McNesby said people often throw things such as bleach and urine at officers, and urged people not to judge the incident based on the video alone.

Lt. Josey has made headlines before. He was exonerated in the shooting death of a Philadelphia man shortly after the man robbed a convenience store in Lower Merion in March 2010.

In July 2010, Lt. Josey was stabbed in the back while trying to break up a fight outside a West Philadelphia bar.

The executive director of Concilio, which organizes the parade every year, called on police to fully investigate the incident.

"While we have no knowledge of what led to the incident, it is clear from the video that a police officer unnecessarily and brutally struck a woman in the face," the statement read. "Even as we celebrate the tremendous advancements of Philadelphia’s Hispanic community over the decades, we cannot overlook this episode. We call on the Philadelphia Police Department to fully investigate and take appropriate action."

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A man packs his personal belongings next to his tent Saturday in anticipation of a police raid to evict the Occupy LA encampment outside City Hall in Los Angeles. The deadline to vacate is 12:01 a.m. PST Monday.

Anti-Wall Street protesters appear to be taking few steps to vacate their Occupy encampments in Philadelphia and Los Angeles despite fast-approaching deadlines to move out.

Few broke down tents at the Occupy LA spread Saturday on the City Hall lawn — and most said they didn't intend to.

Protesters were abuzz with activity, but nearly all of it was aimed at how to deal with authorities come Monday's 12:01 a.m. PST deadline.

Some handed out signs mocked up to look like the city's notices to vacate, advertising a Monday morning "eviction block party."

Dozens attended a teach-in on resistance tactics, including how stay safe in the face of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters and pepper spray.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Friday that despite his sympathy for the protesters' cause, it was time for the camp of nearly 500 tents to leave for the sake of public health and safety.

The mayor said the movement is at a "crossroads," and it must "move from holding a particular patch of park to spreading the message of economic justice."

Resist or move?
Will Picard, who sat Saturday in a tent amid his artwork with a "notice of eviction" sign posted outside, said the main organizers and most occupiers he knows intend to stay.

"Their plan is to resist the closure of this encampment and if that means getting arrested so be it," Picard said. "I think they just want to make the police tear it down rather than tear it down themselves."

But some agreed with the mayor that the protest had run its course.

"I'm going," said Luke Hagerman, who sat looking sad and resigned in the tent he's stayed in for a month. "I wish we could have got more done."

Police gave few specifics about what tactics they would use for those who had no intention of leaving.

Chief Charlie Beck said at Friday's news conference that officers would definitely not be sweeping through the camp and arresting everyone just after midnight.

But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Beck said that despite the lack of confrontations in the camp's two-month run, he was realistic about what must happen.

"I have no illusions that everybody is going to leave," Beck told the Times. "We anticipate that we will have to make arrests."

But he added, "We certainly will not be the first ones to apply force."

New focus in Philly
In Philadelphia, The New York Times reported, Saturday looked nothing like a moving day despite Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s notice that protesters must leave the steps of City Hall by 5 p.m. Sunday.

The mayor said they could move across the street to Thomas Paine Plaza, but no more tents or overnight stays, NBC Philadelphia reported.

“I'm not going to try to predict what’s going to happen on Sunday at 5 p.m,” Nutter said at a Friday interview.

Protesters told the Times that the deadline had focused the local movement’s otherwise disorganized energies.

“Having this kind of pressure is a good thing,” Michael Pierce, 50, a member of Occupy Philadelphia’s information working group, said. “Without some of the struggles that the other cities have had, we’ve been sitting around, drinking coffee,” Mr. Pierce said. “This is bringing us back together.”

Police have swept tent cities in Portland, Ore., Oakland, Calif., New York City, Denver and Salt Lake City.

In other developments Saturday:

• Occupy Salem, Ore., organizers said they will take their protests to Marion Square Park for daytime demonstrations after being ordered to remove all tents, waste, portable toilets and other structures from Willson Park, near the state Capitol.
• In New York, Occupy Wall Street organizers said they plan to outside the Egyptian Embassy on Tuesday in solidarity with protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
• An 18-year-old University of South Dakota freshman reported missing earlier this week turned up in New York after authorities traced a credit card purchase for bus tickets to the Big Apple. Protester Aaron Schmidt met up with his father and uncle in New York after spending two nights on a cardboard in Zuccotti Park.

A 74-year-old Pennsylvania woman is crediting her 14-year-old neighbor with saving her from a burning house -- by using a rickety ladder.

"I'm grateful to be alive," said Charlene McMasters from her hospital bed on Wednesday. "It was quite an ordeal."

New Castle Assistant Fire Chief David Joseph commended Justin Ritchie's quick thinking, calling the hero "humble and quiet."

"Even when he was telling me about it, he was shaken and rattled," Joseph said, adding, "The more I listened to the story unfold, the better it got."

Attempts by msnbc.com to contact Ritchie were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Joseph said the incident happened about 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, when a fire broke out on the first floor of McMasters' two-story home in western Pennsylvania. Fire officials still do not know what caused the blaze that destroyed her home.

"I don't know what it was, but I remember something woke me up," McMasters said. "I noticed smoke and I rushed to get my handbag and I went to the window and screamed and screamed."

Ritchie told Joseph he woke up to his dog barking and then heard a woman shouting.

"He went out and saw this woman hanging out of the window... It was Charlene and her house was on fire," Joseph said.

Ritchie spotted an old wooden ladder that had been abandoned next to McMasters' house and made a dash to the house. The teen set it against the burning structure, warning McMasters that her escape route was unstable and rickety, Joseph said.

McMasters said she didn't care. She took two steps down and the ladder broke.

"I came crashing down and fell a long way," she said.

McMasters said she suffered broken ribs from the 10-foot fall, but that was OK. She was being released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and planned to spend Thanksgiving Day with her children at their homes in Pennsylvania.

"I got a walker, a good therapy session and I will heal," McMasters said.

"I can't thank this young man enough. I don't know what would have happened had he not come to my rescue."