FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are investigating after, they said, two dogs fighting off Fort Lauderdale Beach led one of their owners to open fire, sending one of the dogs and its owner’s girlfriend to the hospital.
7Skyforce hovered above the scene along the 1100 block of Seabreeze Boulevard, at around 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Fort Lauderdale Police said two dogs began to fight when the owner of one of the animals shot the other canine, just before 5 p.m.
The girlfriend of the injured dog’s owner was also struck by gunfire.
That dog’s owner, Anthony LaPlant, later spoke with 7News.
“I see my dog bleeding and my girlfriend screaming, ‘They shot me, they shot me,'” he said.
Cellphone video recorded by witness Joe Matelsky captured LaPlant’s girlfriend and his dog, 2-year-old Sweetie, covered in blood.
“He shoots my dog, and he shoots my girlfriend,” said LaPlant.
LaPlant said he and his girlfriend said they were walking their two dogs, Chosen and Sweetie, along the sidewalk when he left them to go get gelato.
Moments later, witnesses said, chaos broke out.
“We heard screaming and a few gunshots, maybe like four,” said Matelsky.
Detectives said Sweetie got into a fight with a smaller white dog. The man who was walking the white dog pulled out a gun and discharged it.
“I don’t know if it was on purpose or whatever, but still, I mean, who does that in the middle of a residential area?” said LaPlant. “You can let off two rounds and not be handcuffed?”
The bullets hit Sweetie in the neck and LaPlant’s girlfriend, Emily, in the hand.
Matelsky described what he saw.
“This woman was walking down the sidewalk with her two dogs. Another guy was walking down the sidewalk with headphones, with his dog. I didn’t see any leash on his dog,” he said.
Police did not confirm whether any of the dogs involved were on a leash at the time.
Neither the owner of the white dog nor a woman who met up with him to take the animal had any interest to comment on the incident.
Paramedics with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue transported LaPlant’s girlfriend to Broward Health Medical Center. Officials said she is expected to be OK.
Police said the injured dog was taken to Veterinary Emergency Group in Fort Lauderdale.
“We had Sweetie here that came in. We knew that there was a gunshot wound because the police officer brought her in,” said Ignacio Casali, the vet who treated Sweetie. “Our nursing team quickly tried to stabilize the bleeding. We noticed that there were two entry wounds and one exit wound.”
Fortunately, Casali said, Sweetie is in stable condition.
“Then we’ll proceed to take her to surgery, where we could take the bullet out, clean the wound very well,” he said. “Now we have her recovering.”
There is no statewide law in Florida that requires a dog to be kept on a leash in a public area. It is up to each county. There is a law in Broward stating that any dog that is not on their owner’s property must be kept on a leash at all times.
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