Man Who Dragged Dog Behind Scooter Put Behind Bars Thanks to Quick-Thinking Dog Lover

 She's safe, and her abuser has been punished because one person stood up for her.

Melissa Janelle Torrez, a Mission Texas resident, was going about her business as usual. Torrez was getting ready to leave his house on a Friday afternoon. Torrez, however, was faced with a rather unpleasant scene as she drove out of the area.

Taking the Initiative



It's difficult to accept, yet most people freeze when they witness something heinous in public. This is sometimes referred to as the “bystander effect,” in which the bystander feels that someone else will intervene. Of course, when all spectators trust that someone else will act, that leaves a lot of... nothing.

Mario Cardona, her 59-year-old neighbor, was riding his motorized scooter down the street. G2, Cardona's 10-month-old German Sheperd, pursued the scooter.

Torrez, on the other hand, was unique. With her fury boiling, she grabbed out her phone and began filming the heinous occurrence.



She said, "I was pretty unhappy." “Many people told me I should have cut the dog's leash, removed the dog, pushed [Cardona] off his wheelchair... ... I wanted to accomplish all of those things, but I had to think with my head rather than my heart.”

G2 had clearly been through a horrible situation, but what Torrez performed was important for the pup's future. G2 may still be with Cardona if she had taken prompt action instead of videotaping. Furthermore, Torrez's voice is filled with passion.

“Don't be concerned,” Torrez says in the video. “Don't worry, I'm going to call the cops on you.”



Cruelty has no bounds.

Cardona is a brave and ill guy. Rather than being discouraged throughout the filming, he implored Torrez, "Call them [police], it's my dog!"

Thankfully, it wasn't the end of the story. Torrez not only turned over the horrifying video to the Mission Police Department, but she also posted it on Facebook. In the end, even the police department backed Torrez's rapid choice to bring out her phone and capture the incident.

“You know, something like this is amazing because somebody really gave us with video evidence,” Mission Police Department Lt. Jody Tittle told WANE-TV. “Sometimes, animal cruelty is difficult to establish, as horrible as it may sound.”

Cardona was arrested and charged with animal cruelty within 15 hours.



And, as it turns out, this was not his first infraction.

Cardona has a significant criminal record, with offenses ranging from assault and DUI to criminal mischief and cocaine possession. Despite having justice on their side, officials ran against a brick wall at court.

G2 appears to have "belonged" to Rosa Maria Cardona, the defendant's wife. During the legal processes, Horacio Pena Jr., Municipal Court Judge, determined that G2 would not be returned to her prior "home."

Despite the judge's quick decision, Maria Cardona maintained that her husband was unhappy and suffering from PTSD. She was certain that he was not in the correct frame of mind, and that G2 should be returned to her because she was "technically" her dog.

That's right.

The judge made the correct decision in sticking to his earlier ruling. Cardona was released from jail owing to his medical concerns, but he was required to return to court and pay a $10,000 bond.



G2's horrific upbringing has come to an end.

G2 was finally able to start moving ahead when Father Roy Snipes of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church welcomed her into his family, despite the fact that her journey will still require a lot of healing. Father Snipes renamed this pup "Ceniza," which means "Ash" in Spanish, and he has indeed risen from the ashes like the majestic Phoenix. It's safe to say she's found her one and only true permanent home.

A Surprising Turn of Events



However, the story does not finish there. In an unexpected turn of events, it was revealed that Father Snipes was also Cardona's priest. In an interview, he stated that Cardona was "unaware" that G2 had fallen down and that he was being sarcastic in the video.

While church members may have forgiven Cardona, the rest of the community was understandably furious. However, just as anger can be transformed into forgiveness, it can also be transformed into something greater.

Mission authorities formed Pawsible after being moved by Torrez's effort to save G2 from cruelty. The organization is dedicated to rescuing abused dogs and teaching children how to properly care for their canine companions.


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