Dog seriously injured by broken glass left behind by young woman in Chicago
CHICAGO - An act of vandalism led to a beloved dog being seriously injured, and the dog's owners may have caught the culprit on camera.
Imagine letting your dog out in an enclosed backyard, only to have him come back bleeding with a serious leg injury. That's exactly what happened earlier this week in Ukrainian Village, and it started with an otherwise minor act of vandalism.
"We love Benji so much," said the dog's owner, Jeff Shukis. "He's actually 16 years old, so when it happened we got pretty emotional about it."
On Sunday morning, he and his wife Katie let their beloved Benji outside in their small yard. A short time later, they noticed blood gushing from one of his legs.
"So we rushed him immediately to the ER vet and they discovered that he severed a tendon," said Katie.
So how could Benji have severed his tendon in an enclosed backyard?
"We pulled our security footage and found a girl coming from a bar nearby that had thrown over a glass, and that's what he had stepped on," said Katie.
Their security footage from just after midnight the night before shows a young woman nonchalantly tossing something over their fence. The next morning, after Benji began bleeding, the Shukises found shattered glass all over the corner of their yard.
"[Benji] really can't walk at least for the next two weeks as it heals," said Katie. "He had to get it stitched up, and being an older dog, it's just very unfortunate because he has to be on bed rest and doesn't have much time left as it is."
The Shukises are trying to stay optimistic that the elderly Benji will make a full recovery, but are disappointed in whoever is responsible.
"It's just kind of disrespectful to do something like that," said Jeff.
"My message is: seemingly small, reckless actions can have big consequences," said Katie.
On top of the heartache, the Shukises are also stuck with a $1000 veterinarian bill. The couple tells FOX 32 while they're not planning on pursuing any legal action, they do want the woman to see this story and hopefully learn from it.