A man rescued his dog after a suspect put the dog in a headlock while holding a knife, authorities said Sunday.
The attack happened Saturday around 4:50 p.m. in the 16400 block of Magnolia Street in Westminster, according to the Westminster Police Department.
According to police, the male victim had parked his truck in front of a nearby business and went inside for a brief visit. He left his dog on the front seat of the car with the doors unlocked. A short time later, the victim said he returned to his truck to check on his dog when he saw a male suspect, later identified as Miguel Garcia-Gonzalez, 34, of Garden Grove seated in the driver seat.
The victim said he saw Garcia-Gonzalez with a knife in his left hand and holding the dog in a headlock and believed Garcia-Gonzalez was going to stab the dog, so he grabbed the animal. During the struggle, Garcia-Gonzalez allegedly swung the knife at the victim several times, missing. The victim retrieved his personal defense stun gun, which he deployed on Garcia-Gonzalez, leaving him temporarily incapacitated.
The victim used the time to run to the driver’s side and pulled Garcia-Gonzalez out of the vehicle, then detained him and with the help of a store employee, used zip ties to detain the suspect until police arrived.
Shortly afterward, authorities provided a photo of the dog, which appeared to be frightened by the situation. Animal cruelty charges may be filed.