MIAMI (WSVN) – The owner of a dog who was caught on camera preventing bypassers from jumping into the bay to save his distressed dog is sharing his side of the story.
Forty-three-year-old maintenance man Kodi Vidrine denied kicking his dog into the bay on Brickell Key and shoving a good Samaritan.
“I didn’t even touch the girl. I told her to get out of my personal space is all I did,” said Vidrine.
Despite video evidence showing the chaotic scene, Vidrine said his three-and-a-half-year-old Dobermann slipped into the water and is a good swimmer.
The good Samaritan, Jadee Guidice, spoke to 7News over the weekend where she said Vidrine was not a good sport on that day.
“She’s trying to help you. Your dog is drowning, you [expletive] lunatic!” said a witness on video.
Guidice said she saw Vidrine kicking his dog into the water and she tried to help.
“All I was trying to do was help the dog,” said Guidice. “We ran, running over to him and asked him what was happening, what was going on.”
She claims the man asked her to take a video of what was happening, telling her it was for his show.
“I said ‘Absolutely not, your dog looks like it is in distress, you need to help your dog,’” said Guidice.
Guidice said after he requested that, an argument occurred between them as the animal remained down below swimming back and forth with no way out.
It is a claim that Vidrine denies. He said that he didn’t want anyone else touching his dog.
“That’s my best friend in the world, I would never do anything like that,” said Vidrine. “She wasn’t trying to help, she came to me, the way she approached me, yelling in my face telling me I was abusing my dog. I get very defensive, that’s my son.”
But Guidice said she was trying to help so she jumped in to help the dog.
“I felt like it was my duty to do something because the dog did look like it was in distress,” said Guidice.
A video posted to social media shows Vidrine jumping right behind her, blocking her from reaching the dog, and splashing water in her face.
“He did everything he could to keep me as far away from the dog as possible,” said Guidice.
But Vidrine denied the former lifeguard’s retelling of events.
“I was there, I know what happened,” said Vidrine.
When asked whether he pushed her, he said no. When pressed again on whether he pushed the dog into the water, he denied it again.
But he did agree that he pushed the man seen on video trying to see what was going on.
“I did push the dude, yes,” said Vidrine.
City of Miami Police said they are working closely with the State Attorney’s Office to determine if charges will be filed in this case.
The dog was eventually pulled to safety. The animal remains with its owner.
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