CONOVER, NC (WBTV) - A year ago, "Firu," an American Bulldog mix suffered serious injuries after he was dragged behind a pickup truck in Mecklenburg County.
Now the two men accused of felony animal cruelty are suing the woman who took the dog in.
Agustin Martinez, 26, and Jose Guebara-Cerda, 30, tied Firu to the bumper and drove off, dragging the dog behind. A witness saw the dog and called police.
The suit names Samantha Hodge, her rescue group, the Animal Hospital of East Burke, doctors at the hospital and members of the public.
It claims defamatory statements were made against Martinez and Cerda, saying that Hodge "made or caused to have been made numerous statements threatening the Plaintiffs" and that doctors at the animal hospital were complicit in Hodge's acts of slander and libel and benefited from the statements.
Hodge says her attorney told her not to comment on the suit. Her attorney is in the process of responding to the allegations.
The suit claims numerous Facebook posts from various people stated the men had been drinking on the day of the incident, are undocumented aliens, evil, sick and compared him to Osama Bin Ladin.
The men's attorney, Cynthia Everson, couldn't say much about the specifics of the suit.
Everson is also representing Martinez and Cerda in their criminal case.
She did say she supports efforts to prosecute animal cruelty cases but "this is not one of those cases."
Recent Facebook posts show a continued outpouring of support for Hodge and Firu, calling the lawsuit "frivolous" and "terrible."
Hodge says Firu spent 48 days in an animal hospital and still receives special care. "He's my sidekick..he's my little shadow," Hodge said.
As for the support she's received, Hodge says, "Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us through this."
Everson says we could learn in late November whether the criminal case for Martinez and Cerda will be heard together or separately.
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