A Las Vegas couple is desperately searching for their dog after he disappeared during a shooting near UNLV.
Omari Rodriguez and Steven Ragsdale were walking their dog Gizmo Sunday April 8 at 7 a.m.
The couple tells 13 Action News, a resident thought they were speaking too loud while he was trying to sleep by the pool.
"We were literally just talking like average people, not loud or anything at all," said Rodriguez.
The couple exchanged some words with the man and then headed off to a nearby business to drop off a job application.
When they returned, Las Vegas police say the man was waiting forhtem.
"Next thing you know, we see these huge stones, these huge bricks being thrown at us and I'm looking like, where are these bricks coming from?" said Ragsdale.
The men tried to deescalate the situation, but it escalated anyways.
Court documents say the man pulled out a gun and began firing at Rodriguez, Ragsdale, and their dog four pound dog Gizmo.
"I began running across the street," said Ragsdale. I have Gizmo in my hand but I eventually let him go because....I don't know...it just happened so fast," he said.
Rodriguez was shot in the back twice as he ran away from the shooter, trying to protect his partner from the bullets.
"I could barely speak, there was just blood coming out and everything, I finally collapsed to the floor," he said.
Despite not knowing if he was going to survive, Rodriguez noticed Gizmo was missing.
"I tell Steven, please find Gizmo, get Gizmo, Steven get Gizmo."
He searched and searched, but during the chaos, Gizmo ran off.
Rodriguez spent four days in the hospital.
When he got out, he and Ragsdale searched tirelessly for their Yorkie Shih Tzu mixed puppy.
"I woke up every morning with him, I trained him, I bathed him, we've given him hair cuts, we've taken him on walks," said Ragsdale.
"He wasn't just a dog for us," said Rodriguez. "He's part of our family."
If you see Gizmo, please call his owners at (832) 754-2741.
The shooter was charged with attempted murder.
