Witness sought for dog thrown from car

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Officers are searching for a woman who claimed she witnessed a dog being thrown from a vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

Supervisor Wayne Gilbert with the Virginia Beach Police Department said the woman brought the dog to the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and told the clerk she saw the dog being thrown from a vehicle on Salem Road near Landstown Road about an hour prior.

The woman left before her contact information could be taken by officers. Police are hoping to locate her to learn more information about the incident.

She is described as a white female in her 40s to early 50s with brown hair. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident.

Police only wish to question her about what she saw.

The dog is an older male, black and white Shih Tzu who suffered injuries to his neck and back.  Jean Deliz with the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center said employees there affectionately named the dog "Norton."

"We're calling him Norton after Ed Norton," Deliz said. "I think he's very lucky. He could have been killed."

"Obviously the dog had some neck and back muscle pain," Gilbert said. "The X-rays revealed everything was okay inside."

Although there were no broken bones, Gilbert said Norton had fleas.

"There was a horrible flea infestation," Gilbert said. "The dog obviously have flea allergies, because it's missing hair. The dog appears to have had an eye infection that lasted for quite sometime."

Anyone who may recognize the woman or know who may own the dog is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.