FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In our world filled with new and improving technology, it seems like everyone has a camera rolling at all times.
But surprisingly, the threat of video proof does not seem to stop people targeting innocent animals.
Charles Fields was at work when his two pit bull puppies went missing on Wednesday, May 14, around 1 p.m., but his security cameras recorded a man playing with Revelation and Exodus.
“When he walks up, he plays with them right here, which you see on the camera. He plays with them here and then he proceeds to walk to my front door to knock on it to let us know that the dogs got out,” said Fields. “At this point, I think he’s a Good Samaritan just trying to let us know, ‘Hey, your dogs got out.’ What hurts me the most is they were so friendly and kind to him. They had no idea.”
With the house empty, nobody answers the door, and then the man grabs one pup while the other dog appears to follow right behind his brother.
“Heartbreaking,” said Fields. “I just cannot imagine somebody would do that to any family.”
The 9-month-old brothers managed to climb a wood pile and jump over a wall, getting out of the backyard and playing close to busy Riverland Road in Fort Lauderdale, which is why Fields thought the man that took them was trying to help. His truck can also be seen in the video.
More than a week later, the puppies still haven’t been returned.
“I didn’t think people could be so evil,” said Fields.
What’s amazing about many of these animal crimes is that the suspects know they are being recorded.
A day later, on Thursday, May 15, Ashley Diaz found her cat Violet severely injured outside her southwest Miami-Dade home.
“I tried to pet her and she got her top half up off the floor but she couldn’t move her lower bottom, so I knew something was wrong,” said Diaz.
She rushed Violet to the ER where she learned her 2-year-old black and white feline suffered a spinal cord injury, and the x-rays showed what appeared to be a BB gun pellet lodged in her back.
“It didn’t occur to me that somebody would willingly target her and shoot her,” said Diaz. “She’s a sweet cat. How can people do this?”
Disabled, Violet now wears a diaper and drags her lifeless legs behind her. Diaz performs physical therapy on her.
“To do this, you don’t have a heart or soul -- to do this to an animal, you don’t have a heart,” she said.
The outside camera didn’t pick up the possible crime, but Diaz did file a police report with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, concerned someone could target the other cats she cares for that live outside too.
“I was shocked, I was angry, I wanted to cry. It was a mix of emotions and none of them were positive, and now, to be honest, I’m scared because there’s more kitties that live in the area. What if they are in danger?” Diaz said.
As a cat lover and rescuer who works diligently to sterilize homeless animals in South Florida, Diaz has seen violence directed towards innocent victims, but the smallest creatures must still rely on people to survive.
“Her life has changed but she still purrs, she’s still sweet, she’s still friendly,” Diaz said. ”A human betrayed her and she is still sweet with us. So I feel like that shows a lot about an animal’s heart that we can learn from.”
Violet needs to see a neurologist, get an MRI and possibly even back surgery, which will cost at least $10,000.
As for Fields, he and his children just want their family’s puppies back, no questions asked.
