Actor Jena Malone Chases Down Dog Abuser, Heroically Rescues Dog
CK Kimball
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It’s not the usual way a celebrity enters the press, but Jena Malone has no regrets after engaging in what she referred to as a “brawl” after chasing down an alleged dog abuser in Los Angeles on April 5th.
Fans of Jena Malone, known for films such as Donnie Darko and The Hunger Games, were treated to a play by play of the Monday action via the actor’s twitter account, as first reported by NBC Los Angeles.
“This was really scary.” Malone posted to her twitter account, “I saw a man kicking repeatedly a small dog on the sunset, yanking him up in the air and absolutely choking the dog. I yelled at him to stop from my car but he wouldn’t. I got out of my car to try and get the dog but he started running.”
Jena in all of her glory: Wiki Commons
Another witness said the man was dragging him and kicking him Monday near Sunset Boulevard and the 101 Freeway.
“So I started chasing him.” The actor continued in thread, “I saw other people watching on the street upset, as they must have seen the same abhorrent behavior I witnessed, so I tried to signal a man in an orange vest to run with me to chase him.”
With little concern to her personal safety, Jena Malone left her car running in her pursuit of the man and the abused dog. Luckily, other witnesses passing by left their cars as well to join in the chase for six blocks which found the alleged perpetrator receiving a “Hollywood Hello” in a group smackdown on the street.
“And this is the tail end of a heated fight that ensued.” Malone explained, “The cops came and took the guy. I waited with dog til another cop came to take them to the hospital. The dog was covered in filth and looked like it had been not taken care of for months.”
It was later discovered that the dog, a Maltipoo, was owned by a woman named Kelly McKinney.
Kelly McKinney and Champ. Kelly McKinney/ Washington Post
The alleged abuser, speaking to NBCLA’s cameraman just before police arrived, stated he didn’t think the dog was hurt.
“That’s why I did it, it’s my mother’s dog and he should obey me,” the man said.
Champion was taken by animal control and received veterinary care that determined that the dog was in fact injured by the altercation.
“After coming out of the hospital,” Malone reported, “the dog is ok but has a fractured rib, bone breaks in it’s hind legs and another fracture in its right paw. It was absolutely horrific seeing an animal treated this way.”
While according to LA criminal law attorney Andrew Leventhal the events leading up to rescuing the dog is probably fair, continuing to beat the suspect after the dog was safe could raise some legal questions. However, at this point the LAPD has filed not file charges against the group who attacked the man and the man who was allegedly beating the dog was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty.
Here’s the link to Champions go fund me page https://t.co/3jGvXPGwP4
— Jena Malone (@MaloneJena) April 6, 2022
There hasn’t been clarification on whether or not the arrested abuser is indeed Kelly McKinney’, son, but, according to the GoFundMe launched to cover Champ’s medical bills, the pup had been missing for five days.
Champion is recovering, having made it through surgery, and hopefully heading home soon. While it’s not encouraged to use violence in dog rescue, Jena Malone’s experience is a reminder that it can take a village to save a dog.
“I really didn’t think I was going to be able to get the dog back by myself. After another block of chasing him down I looked back and there were 5 other men behind me pursuing him. Which felt like a miracle.”
