Stranger kicks 5-pound rescue dog in NYC, then claims dog owner attacked first

An Upper West Side animal lover is fuming after a stranger booted her 5-pound chihuahua over the weekend — and then accused her of assaulting him first.

Jen Floyd, 40, was walking her 3-year-old rescue pup, Knox, around 2:50 p.m. Saturday on West 70th Street and West End Avenue when she said a man nearly knocked over her pup while distracted on the phone. 

“He was not looking at all where he was going,” Floyd told The Post Wednesday. “So he was about to step on my dog by accident, so I said, ‘Hey, watch out for my dog – you’re about to step on him.’” 

A brief surveillance video obtained by The Post shows Floyd walking Knox on the sidewalk when the man punts the poor pooch. 

Floyd said the stranger stopped and stared at her before kicking the tiny animal on his side. 

“He kicked him as hard as he [could] a few feet back,” the fuming owner said. “He’s like a 5-pound dog. His foot was bigger than my dog.”

Knox was visibly in pain after the senseless attack, Floyd said.

“He was crying and screaming,” the woman recalled. “I don’t even know how to replicate it. It was very traumatic.”

Floyd said she swooped up her yelping pooch and ran after the man – cell phone in hand – to record him as she confronted him. 

“I ran down the block after with my phone camera, and he turns around, and I start screaming, ‘What the hell’?” she said. 

“He’s basically like, ‘My mom’s not feeling well. I have to get her medicine,’” Jen said the stranger explained. 

But that reasoning didn’t suffice for the enraged pet owner. 

“I’m like, ‘Dude, that doesn’t give you the right to assault people or animals,’” said Floyd, who posted a video of the confrontation to her Instagram account. 

Floyd called 911 after the incident, but gave no details and declined to meet with cops, according to police sources. 

But the alleged dog-kicker, 34, showed up at a police precinct the following afternoon and made a complaint – arguing that the woman was actually the aggressor, cops and sources said. 

He claimed that he was walking on the sidewalk when the dog-walker approached him from behind, pushed him into the street and yelled, “What are you doing?” before accusing him of almost stepping on her dog, cops said.

She then punched and kicked him in the face, causing minor injuries, and tried to break his cell phone, according to the man’s account provided to police. 

But Floyd denied striking the man’s face, only admitting: “I think right after he kicked Knox I kicked his foot.”

She also denied trying to break his cell phone.

Floyd then showed up at the precinct on Monday to file a report against the alleged dog-kicker – making the two “cross-complainants” tangled in a feud with no resolution, so far, sources said. 

No arrests had been made by Thursday afternoon, cops said.

Further complicating matters, dogs are considered “property” by New York State penal law, sources said.

The former animal welfare worker – who now runs an antique and vintage pet-themed jewelry company with 10% of the proceeds benefiting shelters, SPCAs and humane societies – said she’s feeling “helpless” after the attack. 

“We’re just trying to spread the word since there don’t seem to be any legal repercussions,” said Floyd, who has been vocal about the incident on her Instagram account. “We want people to be aware of this man and that he might be a danger.” 

Knox wasn’t seriously hurt – aside from some soreness on his side, Floyd said. 

But his owner said she took the pint-sized pup down to Florida to recover from the traumatic ordeal. 

“He is the sweetest angel,” Floyd said of her beloved pet. “Normally chihuahuas can be yappy or feisty but all he wants is food and affection.”

Floyd is hoping that the sunny escape from the Big Apple will help bring Knox back to normal.

“I wanted to give him some warm weather and just like get away from the city,” she said.