Dog owner killed while trying to save his pooch from thieves

A man died tragically last year while trying desperately to rescue his pet pooch from a pair of dog thieves. Now, the man’s son wants his father’s killers to face their punishment.

Surveillance camera footage from Chengdu shows how 48-year-old Xie Xingcai tried to stop the van taking away his dog, attempting to reach inside the driver’s side window. However, instead of stopping, the van pulled away, dragging Xie for dozens of meters before finally throwing him to the pavement.

Afterward, Xie was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries to his head. Following emergency surgery, he was placed on life support, but died 18 days later.

According to a report from The Cover, Xie had already had two dogs stolen by thieves earlier that year, and didn’t want to let another one get snatched away.

About a week after the incident, Chengdu police were able to track down the two suspects, their gang, and hideout.

Last month, the two pleaded guilty to theft along with unintentional homicide. One of the suspects apologized, explaining that he had never meant to hurt anyone, and offered to sell his house to repay his debts.

However, the victim’s son told reporters that he did not care about receiving any kind of financial compensation from the men.

“Where we live, dog theft is rampant, its affect on society is too severe. I don’t want money, I want the murderers to be severely punished.”

This is far from the first time that dog theft has turned deadly for humans in China. Back in January, a vengeful pet owner pursued the dog hunter who had stolen and killed his pet, eventually catching up to him and ramming him through a wall with his van.

The dog thief was declared dead at the scene. Meanwhile, the dog owner’s family claimed that the man had only meant to frighten the thief, but had got the gas pedal confused with the brake pedal in the heat of the moment.

[Images via The Cover]

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