AUGUSTA, Maine — An Augusta woman says a man punted her puppy like a football while passing by on a popular path. Police are investigating.
Like his owner, 4-month-old golden retriever Brewer loves to greet everyone in his path. “I mean, he’s social. He’s met hundreds of people being out on the trails,” Amy Craig, Brewer’s owner, said.
But one encounter took a much different turn on Monday afternoon when the pair was walking the Kennebec Rail Trail in Augusta.
They were a half mile in when Craig says a jogger started approaching and shouted at her to shorten Brewer’s leash. “He said, ‘Hey, shorten your leash or I’ll kick him,’” Craig said.
She says they all stopped and when he looked Brewer in the eye, Brewer took a few steps in his direction. “He looked like a nice guy. He looked familiar. I thought he was just stopping to say hello,” Craig said.
Instead, she says he pulled his leg back and swung. “Yeah, like he was a football. It wasn’t like ‘get away.’ He kicked him to launch him away and to be hateful. He could’ve kept going,” Craig said.
Craig says Brewer landed on his back and started yelping. “I got on the ground with Brewer and said, ‘Oh my God, he’s a puppy. Are you kidding me?’ He said, ‘He could’ve bit me,’ and he just kept going,” Craig said.
She and Brewer were in disbelief. “I was so mad at first and I was so mad after and I felt like I didn’t protect him and defend him and that was really upsetting because he’s my baby,” Craig said.
Luckily, Brewer is doing just fine, but Craig is taking to social media to warn others about the man who hurt him. The Red Barn is also offering a cash reward for information.
“I’d say about 6 feet tall, 40 years old, short hair like military fade, jogging shorts on, navy and gray sweatshirt, winter hat and he had this slow paced jog, his feet barely came off the ground,” Craig said.
As police investigate, Craig and Brewer are getting back on their feet. “We brought him back out and he’s good. He loves people,” Craig said.