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An 11-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback and Pit Bull mix was forcibly taken after two thieves brutally attacked the dog’s owner inside a 7-Eleven store in North Hollywood on September 26, Tuesday.
The incident was caught on video and was reposted by kriskellyfoundation on Instagram. The disturbing video shows two people, a man and a woman, attacking the owner and trying to steal the dog, named Drake.
The man can be seen forcibly taking the leashed dog out of its owner’s grasp while the woman stomped and beat the owner.
CBS News reports that the dog owner entered the convenience store shortly before the suspects started their “seemingly unprovoked” attack.
According to ABC 7, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Ryan Lee said in an interview that the owner “was approached by a female and male suspect who indicated that they didn’t like the way she was treating her dog.”
However, after the police reviewed video footage, they saw no indication that the owner was mistreating the dog.
“There were no other words exchanged. The victim then went to use the ATM machine that was inside of the market. And then, with her back turned, she was attacked,” the LAPD Detective continued.
Two days after the attack, Drake was finally reunited with his owner, after being located at a sober living home in Orange County.
ABC 7 reports that the operators of the home recognized Drake from the news and confronted the tenants who had the dog from their possession.
The suspects then fled, leaving the dog with the home’s operators. The operators then contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who in turn, contacted the Los Angeles Police Department.
The identity of the suspects hasn’t been released and an LAPD spokesperson said that the motive behind the incident remains unknown.
LAPD Detective Lee said, “A Rhodesian Ridgeback pit bull mix is not necessarily something that is highly coveted amongst some of the thieves that are our there. So we’re working to try to understand the motive.”
