PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have released surveillance video showing the moment someone shot two dogs with BB pellets in the backyard of a Pembroke Pines home, killing one and injuring the other.
According to Pembroke Pines Police, homeowner Charles Mione returned to his home on Sunday, Dec. 3, to find 10-year-old Madie, his female golden retriever, dead. Max, his 7-year-old male golden retriever, had been injured and is expected to survive.
The video reveals both dogs sleeping in the back patio when, at around 8:50 p.m., they notice something that spooks them by the rear door.
“They heard something. They awoke, their heads perked up, and then the act was performed,” said Mione, who was out at an appointment at the time of the shooting.
The footage shows Max flinching, then going behind a parked all-terrain vehicle to hide. Shortly after, the video shows Madie being shot. Another surveillance camera shows her going to the side of the house, where she collapsed.
Madie was dead in less than a minute.
“What do you think I felt when I came home, and I’m looking for my dogs, and I see her on the side of the house in a pool of blood?” said Mione. “It’s really horrific to come home to that.”
Police said Mione had left his dogs in the backyard for about five hours before returning home that night. At the time, officials were not aware of what weapon was used, but their investigation revealed steel BB gun pellets were fired at the dogs.
Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home shows a bald man walking away with a rife. The man was barefoot, so investigators believe he must live nearby.
“I think it was basically a barking issue,” said Mione.
Mione’s home is surrounded by a privacy fence, so it is nearly impossible to see the dogs from the outside.
Police said they have never received any complaint about the golden retrievers.
“They should have the right to be in their own backyard,” said Mione. “This is their domain right here.”
Area residents were horrified to hear the news. “It’s awful. As far as I know, the dogs were never out roaming the neighborhood,” said neighbor Russ Routon. “I never saw them.”
“It’s very sad because I knew the dogs when they were little, when they were puppies,” said neighbor Thelma Jimenez.
“It was a very bad crime that should have never taken place,” said Mione, who has since hired a lawyer.
“We want to see the perpetrator of what I consider to be an extreme cowardly act — killing a defenseless, beautiful golden retriever and really harming a second golden retriever — to be brought to justice,” said Michael Orenstein, Mione’s attorney.
The autopsy revealed Madie had been shot on a prior occasion. Older fragments of BB bullets were found inside of her body.
“She was a great dog,” said Mione. “Very passive, protective. My kids grew up with this dog. It’s just a great loss to my family.”
Max has a BB bullet lodged near his aorta. The pellet could stay there or it could move, and that might cause life-threatening damage.
Police have yet to locate the subject.
If you recognize the subject or have any information on this investigation, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.