A man described the moments he encountered a dog that was submerged underwater in Coconut Grove as police investigate who is responsible.
Ryan Young was returning to the marina after being out on his boat when he spotted something in the water.
“My first thought was, oh my goodness, someone’s dog fell off their boat and drowned,” Young said. “And I started looking closer, and I could see ropes, and I was like, oh my goodness.”
Young said he alerted the marina, and within about 20 minutes, staff had retrieved the dog.
Video shared online appears to show the dog submerged in the water, tied to cinder blocks.
Young believed the dog was a golden retriever, but no one in his boating group recognized it.
“It was the worst thing I had seen in my life because the worst part was they tied the dog with its own leash and zip-tied it to the block,” he said. “It was a very purposeful thing.”
Young said there is a group chat of about 40 people in the area, and no one recognized the dog. The police have yet to identify a potential owner.
“They checked it for a microchip, but they’re saying that he didn’t have one,” he said.
Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins is also speaking out, calling the incident “cruel, disturbing and completely unacceptable.”
In a statement posted to social media, Higgins said the city is in close communication with Miami Police, which has an active investigation underway.
NBC6 reached out to Miami Police on Wednesday, who said there was no new information to share and that the investigation is underway.
Investigators have not publicly said how the dog died, who owned it, or who may be responsible.