{"id":285816,"date":"2026-05-27T06:29:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285816\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T06:29:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:29:29","slug":"navy-veterans-search-intensifies-for-injured-service-dog-missing-in-jacksonville-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285816\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy veteran’s search intensifies for injured service dog missing in Jacksonville"},"content":{"rendered":"

A veteran from Iowa is determined to find his service dog Mal\u2019i, who went missing after a hit-and-run in Jacksonville. Locals and volunteers are helping the search.<\/p>\n

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The search is intensifying for an injured service dog that ran away after being hit by a truck over the weekend in Jacksonville, leaving a Navy veteran from Iowa refusing to leave the city without her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mal\u2019i, a 4-year-old American Staffordshire, was struck by a vehicle Saturday morning near Atlantic Boulevard and the LUX Apartments behind the Cinemark theater, according to her owner, Navy veteran Scott Baker. The driver did not stop, and the dog ran off after the collision. She has not been seen since.<\/p>\n


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Baker, who relies on Mal\u2019i as a service dog to help manage post-traumatic stress disorder, said he and his family have been searching for her with the help of volunteers, local officials and animal services.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been in the family since she was six months,\u201d Baker said. \u201cShe\u2019s four years, almost five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family was visiting Jacksonville to help their son move into an apartment when the incident occurred. Baker said his daughter was outside with Mal\u2019i at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter was outside with Molly and letting her go to the bathroom, and she screamed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe heard the scream, but we didn\u2019t realize it was her or what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mal\u2019i is described as brown and tan and was last seen wearing an aquamarine onesie and a black collar with Baker\u2019s dog tags. The family believes she is injured, but the extent of her injuries is unknown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Baker said Mal\u2019i plays a critical role in his daily life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have PTSD and she sleeps with me at night,\u201d he said. \u201cShe wakes me up when I have episodes and lets me know everything is okay. She\u2019s not there. I can\u2019t sleep because she\u2019s not with me. And I can\u2019t go back to Iowa without her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The search has drawn support from Animal Care and Protective Services, volunteers and members of the community, as well as a local officials. Baker said the response has given him hope despite being in an unfamiliar city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel so warm that there is such a caring community,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s giving me hope, because otherwise I don\u2019t have hope right now just because we\u2019re in an unfamiliar area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker urged anyone who spots Mal\u2019i not to approach her, as she may be frightened and could run further.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t try to approach her,\u201d he said. \u201cJust give us a call, and we will be out there in the middle of the night whenever. We want to bring her home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about Mal\u2019i\u2019s whereabouts is asked to call 805-512-1860.<\/p>\n

The Bakers have reported the hit-and-run and the dog\u2019s disappearance to the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, which has been contacted for additional information on the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A veteran from Iowa is determined to find his service dog Mal\u2019i, who went missing after a hit-and-run…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-285816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}