Dog Fight Gone Bad: Florida Man Throws Stranger’s Pup To The Ground After Men’s Dogs Scuffle

A Florida man is being sought by police after he allegedly threw a stranger’s dog to the ground following a minor scuffle between the two dogs, WFTS (Tampa Bay) is reporting.

The incident happened over Father’s Day Weekend but is only now gaining attention in the media.

Kelly Maronpot was with her father and her beloved pup, Rory, at Clearwater’s Enterprise Dog Park. As anyone who has ever been to a dog park will tell you, dogs are social and curious critters, and sometimes they rub each other the wrong way. For reasons that aren’t clear, Rory and another dog started to scuffle.

Kelly, who runs a pet-care business, knew right away that it was minor, as dog fights go — just a little wrestling, according to WFLA (Tampa). They didn’t even bare their teeth, which is a sign that a dog means business.

“I’ve seen this kind of thing hundreds of times. There was no teeth-baring, and it lasted less than 30 seconds.”

However, the owner of the other dog, whom police are looking for and who hasn’t been identified or apprehended as of this writing, flipped out over the fight and took his frustrations on Rory, according to Maronpot’s account.

“The guy, the owner stepped in and picked Rory up and my first thought was ok good, he’s breaking up the fight, said Maronpot. Then he lifts Rory over his head only then to slam him down to the ground.”

Dog slammed to the ground at Clearwater dog park https://t.co/TO1WjywhRz pic.twitter.com/APjJLkYroF

— Clearwater FL (@ClearwaterFLrr) June 24, 2016

But the man wasn’t done with his brief crime spree. After assaulting the defenseless dog, the perp then turned his attention to Kelly’s father, who was trying to intervene. The assailant shoved the 69-year-old man several times, all while yelling obscenities at him.

“Rory was so upset, whimpering and crying. He was cowering. My dad was okay, just worried about his dog. He loves Rory so much.”

Still, the man’s crime spree wasn’t over. A bystander, identified only as a 16-year-old, had been recording the assaults with his or her cell phone. The man grabbed the cell phone from the teenager’s hand, deleted the video, and then threw the phone into some nearby bushes.

The man then drove off before authorities could intervene.

“I can’t believe this guy got away with it. He needs to be held accountable.”

The good news is that Rory and his family are going to be just fine. The family took Rory to a vet and, miraculously considering what happened to him, he didn’t suffer any injuries in the assault. Neither did Kelly’s father or the teenager who was recording the events.

Fortunately for Clearwater cops, witnesses were able to get a good description of the pup’s assailant. Police are looking for a white male, approximately 25-years-old, with a full beard. And most importantly, he was driving a distinctive and easily-recognizable car: a canary-yellow Chevrolet Camaro convertible, possibly a 2010-2014 model.

For Kelly Maronpot, it’s important that the pup’s assailant is caught as quickly as possible. Not just for her beloved Rory, but for anyone else — animal or person alike — who gets on that guy’s bad side.

“We just want him caught. If this guy will do this to a stranger’s dog, what will he do to his own pets or even a person?”

By the way, in case you’re ever in a similar situation and one of your dogs gets in a fight, dog behaviorist Cesar Milan says that the best way to break up the fight is to get the more aggressive dog to open his mouth and let go of the less aggressive one, and this can be accomplished by pulling back from the back of his neck and collar.

But whatever you do, don’t pick up either of the animals and throw them to the ground like the Florida man did.

[Image via Bambara/Shutterstock]