WILTON MANORS, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have located a dog hours after it went missing after his owner got mugged in Wilton Manors.
A man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was walking his dog Petey in the area of Wilton Drive and Northeast Sixth Avenue, at around 5 a.m., Monday, when he got mugged.
“They took me to the ground pretty quickly and started beating me and hitting me in the head and kicking me,” he said.
Petey, an 8-year-old Manchester terrier, ran off during the incident and was found just before 7 p.m. Cellphone video captured the canine and his owner reuniting after they received a call.
“My initial thought was that they took him from me,” the victim said. “They said, ‘We have your dog here underneath our car.’ I’ve cried my eyes out a lot today. I can’t thank everyone enough for that.”
7News cameras captured the victim and his husband putting up fliers hoping someone would see Petey. His husband drove to the house less than a mile away where the canine was hiding.
Surveillance video showed the victim walking Petey along Sixth Avenue toward Wilton Drive. Five seconds later, a dark car pulled up behind them, and then a man walked up behind them.
The victim said he felt he was being followed by someone on foot and a car.
“A car pulled up alongside me and gentlemen got out, three or four, and attacked me,” the victim said. “When the attack was over, my dog went missing. There was no reason, nothing was said to me, and nothing was taken from me. I’m left just as confused and shaken as you might be. Please help me find my dog.”
In addition to the wounds from the attack, the victim said his heart is broken without the canine.
“He’s an 8-year-old Manchester terrier mix,” he said. “He’s skittish — just a nervous dog, and we want him back.”
Meanwhile, police are working to determine what led to the attack.
“Nothing was said to me,” the victim said. “Nothing was taken from me. I was just beaten.”
The victim said Petey had a few cuts and bruises and will likely head to the veterinarian Tuesday to get them checked out.
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