Santa Ana police seek minivan driver who allegedly intentionally ran over puppy

The Santa Ana Police Department is asking for the public's help to identify a minivan driver who is believed to have intentionally run over a puppy.

On September 8, around 9:15 a.m., City of Santa Ana Animal Services responded to 900 West Park Lane, where a woman reported that a minivan was parked in the area and that the driver appeared to intentionally run over a dog.

Police said officers and animal services responded and found an approximately 9-month-old black-and-white pit bull mix, dead.

"It appeared to be very much run over," Officer Natalie Garcia said. Police canvassed the area and found video surveillance of the incident.

An older-model Honda Odyssey drives into the area, where the female driver takes the puppy out of the van and places it under the car. She then places food near the front driver's-side tire, slowly pulls forward, and runs over the puppy.

"The driver stays with the puppy underneath the vehicle for about 15 seconds before she proceeds to just drive off," Garcia said.

"And the puppy appears to be in distress. It's really hard to watch. And so we don't know why someone would ever do something like that."

Garcia noted that the license plate was illegible in the surveillance footage and that officers have been canvassing the area for the last three weeks, seeking more information about the vehicle.

Orange County Animal Services did not find any other identifying information on the puppy.

Anyone with information to report is asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department at (714) 245-8378.