Dog tied to car bumper dragged by deaf driver

From: Miami Herald - Miami,FL,USA - Apr 2, 2004

POMPANO BEACH

In what detectives think might have been ''a very sick joke,'' a small dog tied to the bumper of a car was dragged before the unknowing driver found it was there.

The driver left the parking lot of an asphalt company in Pompano Beach about 6 p.m. on Thursday. He told police that he did not know where the Chihuahua came from and only realized there was a problem when drivers tried to flag him down, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.

''Our detectives now believe the dog was already dead when it was tied to the truck,'' Coleman-Wright said.

She said the unnamed driver, who is deaf, stopped near Sample Road and Andrews Avenue, put the dog in the car, and drove back.

''We are trying to determine who tied the dog and why,'' Coleman-Wright said. ''This is awful if it was an April Fool's joke.''

-- MARISSA SILVERA

© 2004 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.