Authorities seek man who abandoned a dog at a Riverside County cell tower
Riverside County Department of Animal Services is looking for a man who abandoned his dog at a cell phone tower on Dec. 15 in the Winchester area.
A man was captured on video surveillance picking up a dog and hurling it over a tall fence topped with razor wire at the cell tower located atop a hill near Flossie Way and Pourroy Road. The dog was inside the fencing for less than two hours when maintenance workers contacted Animal Services after discovering and then caring for him. They said the dog was very thirsty and gave him three bottles of water before he was transported.
The dog, KO, is an 8-year-old male pit bull mix. He is microchipped and the information associated with the chip was used to try to locate the dog's owner, Robert Ruiz Jr., 30, at a Temecula address. It appears the listed owner is no longer a resident there and the phone number provided for the chip is not allowing incoming calls.
Animal Services reports that based on surveillance video and additional information, they are confident the man in the video is the owner of the dog. They are seeking an arrest warrant for Ruiz for willful abandonment of an animal. KO is being cared for at the county's Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley.
Veterinary staff treated the dog's right eye for mucoid discharge. Its left eye also exhibited discharge,
KO has been renamed Ken and is now available for adoption or transfer to one of the county's partner rescue organizations.
Riverside County Department of Animal Services provided the video footage below. It is graphic.
