A South Miami-Dade family is mourning the loss of their two beloved pets—one of them a military service dog.
Antonio Frederick says his German Shepherd, ‘Buffy,’ provided emotional support after he was injured while serving in the Marine Corps.
“She would help me with sleeping, when I was depressed and whatnot. She would come and put her paw on me, put a lick on me.”
Yamilla Frederick says their other dog ‘Thor’, a pit bill mix, helped her through difficult times, as she recovered at home from a bilateral mastectomy.
“For someone to get so upset to cause them harm, not knowing what they mean to me or my husband or my children, it is not fair,” Yamilla said.
Their neighbor, Jose Rocha, was arrested for animal cruelty. Rocha allegedly shot Thor when the dog came through an opening in the fence, onto his property.
According to WSVN, Rocha told police the dogs came on his property, but were not aggressive. The arrest report says Rocha told police he was “just shooting to scare them.”
The Fredericks say they heard 6 to 8 gunshots. Buffy had apparently been on the opposite side of the fence in the Frederick’s yard when Rocha struck her as well.
The family’s third dog ran away just in time and was not hurt.
When a WSVN reporter went to Rocha’s house to ask him questions, nobody answered the door but there was a sign stating “Violators will be shot, survivors will be shot again.”
Rocha has since bonded out of jail. The Fredericks say they now want to move out of the neighborhood.
© 2016 Bright Mountain Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. The content of this webpage may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of Bright Mountain Media, Inc. which may be contacted at info@brightmountainmedia.com, ticker BMTM.
