DAVIE, Fla. – A Miami man appeared in court Monday, days after he was accused of fatally shooting a puppy at an apartment complex in Davie.
The Chihuahua named Princess was just 8 months old when she was shot Saturday as her owners took her for a walk around the lake at the Centro Apartments in the 2800 block of Southwest 73rd Way.
The family had driven for two days from up north and had been in South Florida less than 24 hours when she was shot.
"She was a rare, great dog," Princess' owner said. "You know, she was very energetic. She was a puppy. She played with the kids. We played fetch."
Her owners want to remain anonymous but want her story told.
"When she stared pulling on her leash, we looked at her and there was blood coming out of her mouth," Princess's owner said.
According to authorities, an off-duty police officer witnessed Johansen Concepcion De La Ros, 19, fire an airsoft pellet rifle at the 6-pound dog, hitting her in the head.
"He scoped my dog and then he pulled the trigger. So he knew what he was doing," the dog's owner said.
Conception De La Ros didn't have much to say in court Monday as he faced a felony charge of animal cruelty, nor did he speak to reporters after bonding out of jail.
Princess' owner did get the chance to confront him, however, on the day of his arrest and showed him what he had done.
"When I saw him, I showed him the puppy. Like, 'Look. Look what you did,'" she said. "'This is an 8-month-old puppy and look what you did to her.'"
The woman said the teen didn't have an answer for her.
But she said she is thankful to the Davie Police Department for taking the dog away so her children wouldn't have to see its body and for people in the community who have given her words of encouragement.
As for Conception De La Ros, she said she hopes he gets help.