Daniel Zabaneh and his fiancée, Lupe, suffered through a weekend of grieving and sorrow after their tiny dog, Theodore, was killed by a greyhound in a Chandler dog park Friday.
Theodore was being counted on to play an integral role in the couple's upcoming marriage.
"He was actually going to be our little ring bearer; we are getting married in a month," Zabaneh said. "We were actually going to have him carry the rings on his back."
Now, Zabaneh said, "We don't hear his tag jiggling coming up the stairs." The tag, they said, nearly covered the tiny 9-month-old dog's chest.
Theodore was a symbol of the couple's love. He was named after the hotel where Daniel and Lupe met and he was going to be the couple's "baby," they said.
Zabaneh on Friday morning took Theodore to a local dog park where, he said, two greyhounds were turned loose by their owner.
"As soon as Theodore went around, the Greyhound grabbed him up, and Theodore instinctively tried to fight," Zabaneh said. "But he had no chance."
Zabaneh said he rushed Theodore to an animal hospital, but there was nothing anyone could do.
"I want people to be aware that these rescue Greyhounds have a mindset of chasing small things," Lupe said. "The next time, the dog may just snap at a little kid."
The couple posted signs at the park, asking the greyhounds' owner to come forward and take responsibility of what his dog had done.
The grief is such that Zabaneh and Lupe said they don't plan on bringing their other dog, Alvin, to the dog park anymore.
"I just don't want any other dog owner to go through what we are going through," Lupe said. "It was a hard weekend for both of us. It was our little baby."
When Zabaneh left the park Friday, so did the owner of the greyhounds. Zabaneh and Lupe said they hope the owner, or someone who knows the owner, will read or hear about their story and reach out to them.
(KPHO - May 1, 2012)
