A dog owner in South Florida is seeking answers after alleging that someone shot his dog.
Fitzgerald Lawrence has had his pit bull mix, Smoke, for around three years. He compares Smoke to his son. They even have the same birthday.
“I’ve had him since six months, he’s really all I got,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence claims that when he left his Miami Gardens flat on Monday, Smoke escaped and walked outside. When he returned home, he found blood on his dog’s face.
“I’m thinking maybe he got into a fight with another dog, an altercation with a bird, ducks, chickens, but it wasn’t that,” Lawrence told me.
Lawrence examined his dog and discovered a puncture wound in his side with blood everywhere. He hurried Smoke to the clinic, where doctors informed him that someone had shot his dog.
“Honestly, I’m not really one to cry or ask for help, I haven’t been able to sleep in a couple days,” Lawrence said. “I doubt he attacked anyone, so this feels a bit malicious,s and we’re really just trying to find out who did this.”
Doctors conducted emergency surgery. Dr. Jon Rappaport of Advanced Veterinary Care Centre in Davie said the bullet went in and out. They also discovered some gunshot fragments inside Smoke.
“We’re doing everything we can to support this dog who has unfortunately been through a brutal time,” Rappaport said. “He’s a strong dog, he’s an ox. He’s been through a lot and hung in there so far, we hope he can continue to do so.”
Lawrence says he only wants answers.
“We want to know who shot him and see if we can have some type of discussion with them to see what happened,” Lawrence said.
Miami Gardens Police say they’re investigating this case. Detectives are seeking to obtain CCTV footage from the complex.
