MIAMI – A trip to a coffee shop in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood took a chaotic turn when a man’s dog was suddenly attacked by a larger dog. The owner of the smaller dog described how he “fought like a Spartan” to save his beloved pet.
“It just happened, everything, so fast, so quickly,” owner Demetrios Demetriades said. “It could have been a little baby, the other day, it could have been a little kid,”
Security cameras captured Demetriades, 58, going toe-to-paws with the dog Saturday.
“He just saw my dog, probably looked at him as a snack, or something — just so quickly, he attacked him so I had to do something about it,” Demetriades said.
Demetriades says he and his dog, Yiorgos, occasionally pop into their favorite coffee place.
Yiorgos is 3 now and has a muscle condition. He’s a little weaker than most dogs, and his walk is a little wonky. Otherwise, Demetriades said he’s “a happy puppy, but he’s not like a Speedy Gonzales of the neighborhood.”
Demetriades said they were just settling in at the café when Yiorgos was attacked by another customer’s much bigger dog.
“All of a sudden, I see the lady next to me, falling down and I tried to realize what’s happening,” he said, saying he “dove straight to the dog to protect my dog.”
The dog dad and fitness trainer said he’s a physiologist, a kinesiologist, played semi-pro soccer and dabbled in jiu-jitsu.
“Growing up in Greece, in high school, Greco-Roman wrestling is a mandatory thing for us,” Demetriades said. “You have to know (it).”
He said his muscle memory kicked in.
“(I) grabbed him, rolled around with him on the floor and the owner picked him up from the back, pulling the dog, got me a little bit on my leg and luckily, I was OK,” Demetriades said.
Demetriades displayed pictures of some of his scrapes and bruises. He said, thankfully, another customer scooped up Yiorgos in the scuffle, who, on Tuesday, seemed to be all smiles.
“I’m happy I’m OK, and I’m happy he’s OK,” Demetriades said.
The owner of the other dog did not respond to Local 10 News’ request for comment as of Tuesday afternoon. Demetriades said he’s opened up a case with Miami-Dade Animal Services.