STOCKTON, Ca. - A very upset woman in California claims she confronted a dog owner who was walking her dog while driving a car.
In the video, a dog runs alongside its owner’s car, tethered by what Amanda Brajkovich described as a rope.
"You're going to be a dog owner, a responsible dog owner, then you need to get out and walk your dog you know? Don't be lazy,” the Stockton resident said.
The owner of the dog, though hard to hear in the video, defended herself.
She claimed the dog wasn’t dragged and there was no tension on its leash.
Despite the owner’s defense, Brajkovich was furious and posted her video on Facebook warning others this kind of treatment of an animal is not acceptable.
“First thought was, 'Oh my God, this dog is going to get hurt,' you know? Maybe a car's going to go past him and hit him,” she said.
Pet owners in Stockton agree.
"They should... shouldn't be doing that, they should think twice about it, it's too dangerous. The dog could get hurt running out in the street like that,” David Pericle said.
"You shouldn't have a pet if you're going to do that because that's not right to be walking your dog through a car,” Ramon Gonzalez of Stockton told FOX40.
The Stockton Police Department said their animal control department reviewed the video.
They say, “At this point, it appears there was no animal cruelty.”
However, if officers had witnessed it, “the driver would have been cited for distracted driving.”
"Like even if it wasn't hurting the dog, you're taking the chance of somebody else hurting your dog,” Brajkovich said of the officer’s statement.
Brajkovich said she hopes by sharing the video, other pet owners will step up and do right by their pets.
"Give people more courage to actually stand up and say something to speak for the animals who can't speak for themselves,” she said.
FOX40 tried to reach out to the pet owner in the video but was unable to contact her.
