Hunger Games star Jena Malone got into character in Los Angeles Wednesday, springing to action when she saw a man allegedly abusing a little white dog.
On Twitter, the actress replied to a KNBC news story about the incident, explaining in a series of tweets, “I saw a man kicking repeatedly a small dog on [Sunset Boulevard], yanking him up in the air and absolutely choking the dog….I got out of my car to try and get the dog but he started running.”
Several other good Samaritans saw the abuse, too, and also gave chase. They threw the belligerent suspect a beating for good measure before detaining him in a citizen’s arrest. Malone was able to snatch the dog back, she recounted.
“I’m sorry that it ended in a brawl but the dog was going to die. No question,” she posted. “I can’t imagine the level of torture it had suffered until this point.”
According to the news crew that arrived before the subdued suspect was arrested, the unidentified man said the dog was his mother’s. He denied it was hurt. “There nothin’ wrong with him!” he insisted on camera.
Malone later updated that at a hospital the dog was found to have suffered, “a fractured rib, bone breaks in it’s [sic] hind legs and another fracture in its right paw.” She added, “It was absolutely horrific seeing an animal treated this way.”
However, the story has a happy ending. Vets were able to find a microchip and reunite Champ with his owner, who said her son took her dog a week ago.
Malone also posted a GoFundMe link to help cover his hospital bills, and as of late Thursday morning it had already exceeded its $10,000 goal.
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