SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Two dogs have been found dead, with one of them shot, and another was possibly poisoned in a Southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood.
Miami-Dade Police officers received a call about a possible shooting at around 8:30 a.m. at 19051 SW 197th Ave., Thursday. When officers arrived, the dog named Chocolate had already died.
“I woke up today in the morning. My father called me, and he told me my dog was shot,” Alex Cabrera said. “It was an American Bulldog. She was so sweet, man. She was friendly. She was sweet. She was playful.”
In a photograph taken where the dog was found, an apparent bullet hole could be seen in her side.
“I have no emotion right now. I’ve been crying all day,” Jaz Cabrera said. “It’s crazy. They shot my dog. She’s like a family member.”
The Cabreras said they have overheard neighbors complaining about Chocolate and the other dogs on the multifamily property, alleging they had been roaming and causing problems.
“I’m positive it has to be my neighbors because they’ve been threatening for a couple of months,” Jaz said. “They were going to shoot the dog, and the dog was found right there.”
He said he believes someone in the area tried to take all of the dogs out with a gun and poison. One dog, later identified as Rocco, was found in the bushes and struggled to walk, a cellphone video showed.
“He came in with some neurological signs, where he had intention tremors and twitches, severe,” Dr. Spencer Goldstein, of Biscayne Animal Hospital, said. “Most likely not, the way he presented to us, this dog was going to die.”
Bullies -N- Beyond Rescue has stepped in to help the canines.
“We got the call that the other dog was twitching,” Bullies -N- Beyond Rescue volunteer Jane Ziemba said. “His eyes were twitching, which is a sign of poisoning, typically. We also found a shepherd, a German shepherd, this female shepherd dead in the bushes, as well.”
Goldstein said he is certain Rocco ingested a pesticide, a chemical people on the property said they do not use. Rocco is responding to treatment and is recovering.
“Then, no, somebody put pesticide or put some type of high dose of that pesticide out for the dog to get to it,” Goldstein said.
The dogs’ owners have been left to wonder who could commit these acts against the dogs.
“It’s just really sad because we see our pets like family members,” Cabrera said. “It’s really cruel if people would just kill dogs, man.”
“I don’t feel safe at all, and we have kids,” Jaz said. “Somebody kills a dog, what else can they do?”
A police report was filed before the second dog was found dead. Detectives continue to investigate the incident alongside animal control.
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