A former Army Ranger was attacked, beaten and his service dog was stolen outside his Bronx apartment on Monther’s Day.
Robert Lebon had taken his 8-month old pup, Mala, on a walk Sunday through a park nearby his home, but when the pair returned home, the assailaints were waiting for them.
“I was attacked from behind,” Lebron told PIX11.
The attack by two men was caught on surveillance video.
Footage of the assault posted on Facebook has been viewed more then 7 million times and shared almost 2,000 times.
The tape shows Lebron nonchalantly walking up to his front door as a hooded figure comes running up behind him, striking him in the back of the head. The footage shows Lebron falling backward, stumbling down the stairs and, not knowing whether the assailants had weapons, running to make his escape. A second man is seem grabbing Mala’s leash and running off with the service animal.
It’s unclear what kind of specific support Mala gives him, but Lebron said he’s devastated.
“What she gives me I can’t get from anyone else, not a therapist, not a family member, not a friend. It’s unconditional love,” he told PIX11.
Lebron, 44, who joined the Army following the Sept. 11 attacks, has not seen Mala since the attack.
Getting Mala, he said, “was one of the most amazing things that has happened to me in a long time.”
He believes the assault was carried out by an ex-boyfriend of his wife, but police have yet to make any arrests.
Lebron is asking for the public’s help in finding his beloved dog.
“If you could find it in my heart, if you see my dog, if you see something, say something. Because I need her and she needs me,” he said.
Anyone with information about Lebron’s attack or on Mala’ whereabouts is encouraged to contact the NYPD’s CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS, or submit a tip online.
