By Khalida Sarwari
San Jose Animal Care and Services is investigating an attack against a man that left his Yorkshire terrier dead over the weekend.
The attack happened on Saturday afternoon near Colonial Way and South Winchester Boulevard, according to Capt. Jay Terrado of Animal Care and Services.
A 32-year-old man was walking his dog, a 7-pound Yorkshire terrier named “Shadow,” on Colonial Way when three or four males left a car wash fundraiser in the area and approached him on foot, Terrado said.
One of the group members asked the man, who was wearing red clothing, if he was in a gang. They then proceeded to attack the man and in the midst of that, the dog was either stomped on or kicked, said Terrado.
The dog may have been protecting its owner and was attacked in the process, he said. The victim never released his grip on Shadow’s leash, but did not see the attack on the dog, Terrado said.
A necropsy was scheduled for today to determine the dog’s injuries. It appears Shadow died of trauma, Terrado said.
The victim had bruising and swelling on his body, according to Terrado.
The car wash fundraiser was for Ramon Ruano, a 20-year-old man who was shot to death in the back of an apartment complex on Feb. 5. No arrests have been made in his murder.
Detectives are following up on leads from the public and businesses in the area that were open on Saturday.
“There are folks that don’t really want to talk because they’re afraid something will happen to them,” Terrado said. “That’s what we’re encountering right now.”
Terrado said a reward offer would be announced this week to find Shadow’s attackers.
Little information is available about the suspects, other than that they are all young males, Terrado said. After the attack, they ran back to the car wash, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call either Capt. Jay Terrado of Animal Care and Services at (408) 794-7270 or the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP (7867) or visit http://svcrimestoppers.org/.
