Maricopa Police Department is investigating a case of animal abuse involving a man who was seen throwing and kicking a dog found to be injured and emaciated.
Rancho Mirage resident January Harrison rescued the pitbull-terrier mix dog Monday after witnessing the abuse.
She immediately took the canine to a veterinarian who told her the animal was a “bait dog” used in dog fighting.
Harrison said she has vowed to treat the dog she endearingly named Blue Phoenix. She said she will give the friendly pup the love and kindness he deserves.
“Every day’s going to be like Christmas for him,” said Harrison, a professional Christmas light installer during the holiday season.
Blue Phoenix is 30 pounds and for his size he should be 55 pounds, she said.
Harrison said she was driving near Hartman and Honeycutt Roads on Monday night when she witnessed the California man abusing the dog.
“He pulled over his truck and got out and reached into the back and pulled out what I thought was a bag of trash,” said Harrison, a mother of four. “He threw it into and air and kicked it, but the bag didn’t go very far. As I got closer, I realized that it was a dog and realized that that was the second time that he was picking it up.”
She said he grabbed the dog by the tail and whirled him around in a circle. Then he tried to kick it again, she said.
“And that’s when I started yelling, ‘Hey, he’s kicking a dog,’” Harrison said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
She said she then shouted at the man to stop.
“And then I floored my gas pedal towards him, and he jumped in his truck and peeled out of there,” she said.
After the dust cleared, she said she got out of her car to find the dog.
“And this sweet little dog just crawled right into my truck,” she said, adding he was petrified with fear and just laid down on her driver’s side floor, not wanting to move.
She took the injured and starving animal to veterinarian Steve Waldo at Tempe Pet Clinic who agreed to treat the dog pro bono.
She said she identified the driver’s vehicle to police, giving them his California license plate number BH52A92.
Harrison has raised $185 for the dog’s recovery so far. She can be contacted at 480-466-2176 or [email protected]. She also can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
MPD spokesperson Monica Williams said an investigation into the abuse incident is ongoing.
“Reports of animal cruelty and crimes associated with animals are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly,” Williams said.
No arrest has been made as of today.
“While there is no evidence of organized illegal dog fighting taking place in the City of Maricopa, community members are encouraged to report unlawful activity to the police department,” Williams said. “We want to thank our community members for being engaged in keeping Maricopa safe for everyone.”
