Pittsburgh-area couple says man pulled gun on them for trying to help dog in car

BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) — A Butler Township couple says a man pulled a gun on them for verbally comforting his dog, which had been left alone inside a car.

Township police told KDKA-TV they are in the early stages of an investigation into what happened. 

“I really thought I was gonna lose my life, and he was gonna shoot me,” said J.R Hunt. “He pointed it right at my face. I’m still shaking when I think about it. Anytime I see a vehicle that looks like his, I start shaking.”

Hunt and his wife were at the GetGo store near the Route 8 and Route 422 interchange when they saw the dog alone inside a car on the warm Friday. The man said there was only a small opening in the window and the dog was visibly panting.

They began verbally comforting the dog while they waited for the owner to come out, Hunt said. When he did, he began screaming at Hunt’s wife, asking if they were doing something with his dog.

Hunt’s wife explained she was talking to the dog because it was hot outside. She and Hunt got back in their car and told the man that if he did not give the dog water, the dog could die. 

“And that’s when he started screaming obscenities, ‘I was only in there for five minutes, why are you talking to my dog, you’re doing stuff to my dog.’ And this and that. And we were saying, we are just trying to make sure the dog is all right.”

Hunt said the dog’s owner had to have been in the store for at least 10 or 15 minutes. 

The dog’s owner told Hunt and his wife to get out of their car. Hunt showed the man his leg. He walks with a cane. 

“I said I’m handicapped, I’m not getting out of the vehicle. Then he went to come to the window as we were leaving and he had something to his side, and I didn’t know if it was a gun or a taser. And then he pointed it at me,” Hunt said.

That was the moment Hunt and his wife drove off. Hunt described what he saw as a pistol.

“I want that person to go to jail, and know they did something wrong, to not only me, but that poor puppy,” Hunt said. 

He says if they could take over caring for what he described as a beagle mix, he would. They already have 2 dogs.

The next time he sees a dog in a hot car, he says he’ll leave it to police to help the pup. 

“It’s just so hard to even process why someone could be that cruel to someone who was just saying you need to get your dog some water,” Hunt said.