This article has been updated
By: Sharon Aron Baron
At first, Christopher Clark thought the dog he saw lying on the side of the road in Tamarac was run over by a car, but then it became apparent that his owner had almost run him to death —- and the dog, overheated and dehydrated, collapsed near Commercial Blvd.
At approximately 11 a.m., Christopher and his brother Craig were at Allstate Insurance located at the 7800 block of Commercial Blvd when Craig saw a man jogging eastbound in front of his dog. The dog had difficulties keeping up, collapsed, and fell.
The owner tugged at the leash to get him to get up, but the dog, with his tongue hanging out, could not move.
The brothers confronted the owner who told them it had happened before on his six-mile runs.
They offered to give the dog water, but the owner refused. Even a car stopped and attempted to hand him water, but the owner refused as well. According to Christopher, the owner just sat down while petting the distressed dog.
During this time, the temperature was 84 degrees. Craig filmed while yelling at the owner to let them give the dog some water, but the owner just ignored their help and then walked away carrying the dog.
Tamarac Talk has heard from the owner, who explained his dog was fine and was just over-heated. He said the dog needed to be doused with water at home, not in the middle of the street and once he was home he did that.
We asked why he refused water at the scene for his dog, and he said it wasn’t the proper place. The dog needed to be home and his vet did not recommend the dog ingest water.
According to hillspet.com, If a dog is is over-heated, conscious and willing to drink, give him cool, fresh water. Don’t force it, however, as it may end up in his lungs. If he can’t or won’t drink, or can’t keep water down, wet his tongue with water instead. Don’t feed him ice cubes, which could cause his temperature to drop too quickly, leading to shock.
Christopher, who works for Action Roofing and lives in Fort Lauderdale, said the owner was eventually picked up, and the driver drove north on 84th Terrace, where he believes must be the area where he resides.
He believes this man shouldn’t own a dog.
“You don’t just run your dog to death until he falls on the ground,” said Christopher. “I have three dogs, and I don’t want people to treat dogs like that.”
Update: We turned this over to Broward Sheriff’s Office in Tamarac and after doing a well-check on the dog, they saw no indication of any state statute violation as of now. They wrote a police report and will follow up.