Dog abuse video goes viral: How the community came together to rescue a dog in Seattle

SEATTLE — A dog is rescued after a disturbing video was posted online appearing to show it being punched and strangled inside a Seattle apartment.

Angel, a one-year-old Pitbull, gained the attention of hundreds of people on social media overnight Sunday.

“I saw when that guy’s arm went back and I had to look away,” said Stephen Sinclair.

Sinclair told KIRO 7 one of his neighbors, who captured the video, explained that the dog was being beaten by its owner. Sinclair decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Because the dog was in imminent danger of being killed or seriously injured,” he said.

In less than 24 hours, Sinclair received dozens of messages and even a phone call from Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth.

“She told me on the phone before I got there, she said, I’m not leaving until I have that dog in my arms,” Sinclair explained.

Hollingsworth told KIRO 7 she saw the violent video on Nextdoor on Monday morning.

“Your heart is, you know, it hurts, right? And so, the first thing I thought about was immediate action,” she said.

Hollingsworth said she knew the location and stood outside the apartment with other neighbors until police could get Angel out safely.

“Just joy. Grateful for all the people that helped and it took a labor of love. A lot of the people around the community, our SPD. Shout out to them. The people on the ground management. It took a lot to be able to get this dog the help that it needs,” Hollingsworth said.

Seattle police arrested a 19-year-old man, seen in the video, on investigation of animal cruelty charges on Saturday night when the attack was called in.

Sinclair said there was a collective sigh of relief when Angel walked out of the apartment.

“Oh, everybody cheered when she came,” he added. “In this case, a dog was saved. You know, in less than a day, 24 hours. And only because we can communicate so rapidly and so quickly.”

Hollingsworth took Angel to the vet where she found out the sweet pup was malnourished but full of love.

“It makes you feel a lot happy that she’s gonna be in a safe space and we’re gonna get her the attention she needs,” she said.

It was the action of the community as a whole that may have saved Angel’s life.

“We have to be able to speak up and we have to work together. And what I saw today is everybody literally working together to triage the situation and nothing meant anything more than for us to make sure that we got the puppy safe,” Hollingsworth said.

If you’d like to help, neighbors have set up a GoFundMe to take care of vet fees.

Angel is expected to go to a loving foster home on Tuesday.

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