Woman filmed her neighbor dragging his dog behind a scooter instead of stepping in — and that quick-thinking choice saved the animal’s life

She knew she had to stay level-headed and think with her mind, not her emotions.

PUBLISHED 10 HOURS AGO

(L) Woman filming with phone (R) A dog riding scooter with owner. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Imgorthand, (R) martin-dm)

A brave woman decided to take serious action against a dog owner dragging his German Shepherd behind a scooter. Terrified by the heartbreaking sight, Melissa Janelle Torrez did not intervene physically to save the pup but resorted to a different approach that proved more useful. The woman was just leaving her neighborhood when she witnessed the awful scene, while the culprit, who was also her neighbor, cruised down the street without a care in the world. The young dog’s desperate condition prompted her to take swift measures to ensure the poor animal’s safety.

Sad german shepherd pondering deeply.(Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo Rajesh Balouria) — Sad german shepherd pondering deeply.(Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo Rajesh Balouria)

Torrez, a Mission, Texas resident, was heading out on a Wednesday evening when she stumbled upon her old neighbor, Mario Cardona, then 59, riding down the road in his motorized wheelchair with his dog. The then 10-month-old G2 was not safely tucked in, but attached to a leash that caused him to drag on the asphalt. The woman could barely believe her eyes as she watched the German Shepherd struggling to cope with the traumatic event. While some bystanders would turn a blind eye to such a scenario, Torrez was among the responsible ones. She felt it was her duty as a human to report the incident to the police and quickly took out her phone to film the tragic scene.

An old man on a mobility scooter. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Elsvander Gun — An old man on a mobility scooter. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Elsvander Gun)

“Don’t worry. I’ll call the cops on you,” she could be heard yelling in a video, as reported by CBS 4 News Rio Grande Valley on YouTube. “Call ‘em! It’s my dog!” he responded. Torrez recalled yelling at the neighbor to condemn his act, but Cardona was unfazed. “He just keeps going, telling me to mind my own business. It’s his dog, he could do whatever he wants,” she said. The woman rushed to the Mission Police Department to inform them about the animal cruelty with the video footage. “You know, something like this is great, because somebody actually provided us with video evidence,” lauded Lt. Jody Tittle of the police department in an interview with WANE-TV. He also suggested that animal cruelty is otherwise hard to prove in court.

A female police officer handcuffs a man. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Hill street studios)

Not only that, Torrez also uploaded the video to Facebook to spread the word, and it stormed the internet, sparking heated reactions from viewers. “A lot of people told me I should’ve cut the dog’s leash, I should’ve taken the dog, pushed him [Cardona] off his wheelchair…and I wanted to do all those things, but I had to think with my mind and not my emotions,” the woman clarified. In the next 15 hours, the police dragged Cardona to the police station and charged him with animal cruelty. This was in addition to his former offenses, including DUI, assault, drug possession, and criminal mischief.

However, that was barely the end of it. A case was registered against Cardona, and the court proceedings revealed that G2 originally belonged to the man’s wife, Rosa Maria Cardona. The court judge was unimpressed and ordered the dog to be taken away from them despite their appeals. G2 was handed over to animal control and is now safe and loved by his new owner, Father Roy Snipes of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, according to iHeartDogs. Meanwhile, Cardona served jail time and was ordered to pay $10,000 bond as a fine.