A heartbreaking photograph making waves on the web and igniting a lot of ire on social media sites this morning could land a callous dog owner in a lot of trouble with the law.
Denver Animal Control has cited a man for animal cruelty and neglect after the man tried to abandon his dog, German Shepherd mix Bronson, not once — but twice.
Daniel Sohn, 31, adopted Bronson from the Denver Animal Shelter back in October of last year.
Last Monday, for reasons unknown, Sohn brought his dog back to that very same shelter to surrender Bronson. But according to witnesses at the shelter, Sohn refused to fill out required paperwork. Instead, Sohn left Bronson and ran out of the shelter’s lobby door, poor Bronson desperately trying to run after Sohn.
Then, Sohn tried to leave the shelter — and Bronson — behind, hopping into his vehicle and driving off. Witnesses watched in horror as Bronson chased after his owner’s car, desperately trying to catch up as Sohn peeled away.
A short time later, Sohn returned to the animal shelter with Bronson, once more refused to fill out the proper animal surrender forms, and again attempted to flee without his dog. Lieutenant Aaron McSpadden tells 9News he and other witnesses watched again as Bronson took off after Sohn, not intent on his owner leaving him behind. Bronson was last seen doing what he’d done earlier in the day — chasing after his owner’s car.
But Sohn doesn’t seem to think he’s done anything wrong.
“Yes, that is my car and my dog,” Sohn tells 7News (in an exclusive) as he looks at a photo of Bronson running behind Sohn’s white Scion xB. “I actually dropped him off and he followed me because we have a bit of a bond.”
Quite a bond, indeed, at least on poor Bronson’s end.
At one point during his attempt to ditch Bronson, Sohn actually hit his dog with his car, witnesses tell the authorities.
“I didn’t actually hit him,” Sohn says of Bronson when asked about the incident. “He jumped in front of my car but I felt he was triggered to do so as if, like, he was a mechanism of the surrounding people.”
Sohn takes issue with the accusations he “ditched” his dog.
“Well, I didn’t ditch him. I actually dropped my dog off at the shelter where I did pick him up at,” Sohn insists. “I actually gave my dog a choice if he wanted to be with me or possibly find an owner he might feel better with.”
As for Bronson’s current whereabouts, Sohn says he does not know. Sohn claims he drove to Los Angeles that day with Bronson and the dog jumped out of the vehicle’s window at a Beverly Hills gas station. Sohn says he returned to Colorado without his dog.
“He’s a stray and some dogs just stray and he’s probably onto the next owner,” he says of Bronson. “Is he still alive? I’m sure he is.”
Authorities have launched an investigation to try and figure out why Sohn did not follow proper and humane animal surrender procedures. Sohn is scheduled to appear in court on July 2.
As for Bronson, officials and rescue networks are on a desperate search and hope to locate him soon. Anyone with information on Bronson’s possible location is asked to contact Denver Animal Control.
