NBC New York’s Ray Villeda reports.
A Brooklyn grandmother was dragged from her car in a violent robbery near a city park, but two days after the harrowing incident, she's not concerned for herself, or for the wallet and phone the thief took — just her toy poodle, who was stolen along with her sedan.
The 73-year-old woman was out for a walk Sunday in scenic Lindower Park, on Mill Avenue in the Mill Basin neighborhood. She said she tried to get into her car, when a man walking with a cane stopped her from closing her car door and pulled her out by her legs, throwing her to the ground.
"I'm screaming to make people listen, very loud. The man, very strong," said the woman, who did not wish to be identified. "All I can see is he take the car out, and I'm lucky he don't kill me with the car."
She said the thief jumped into the car, sped off and swerved, just centimeters away from running her over. But inside the car remained the woman's 9-year-old toy poodle, named Luna.
Aside from the trauma and the fear as a result of the attack, there is also heartache for the woman. She said she's had the dog nearly all its life, getting Luna as a puppy in Puerto Rico.
The poodle, who had just been groomed the day before the attack, is still missing. The little fluffball was in the passenger seat of her red Honda Civic.
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The woman said Luna is her therapy dog. She is hoping for the little dog's return, and keeps thinking back on what happened, replaying the scene over and over again in her head.
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"I'm not scared to drive again, I'm just afraid that'll happen again: coming to my car, taking my car away," she said, robbed not only of her car and her dog, but her sense of safety as well.
