Man fights with dog who attacked his smaller dog in Brickell cafe

MIAMI – A trip to a coffee shop in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood took a chaotic turn when a man’s dog was suddenly attacked by a larger dog. The smaller dog’s owner described how he “fought like a Spartan” to save his beloved pet.

“Everything just happened, so quickly, so quickly,” said owner Demetrios Demetriades. “It could have been a little baby, the other day it could have been a little child.”

Surveillance cameras filmed 58-year-old Demetriades getting up close and personal with the dog on Saturday.

“He just saw my dog, probably saw him as a snack or something – he attacked him so quickly that I had to do something about it,” Demetriades said.

Demetriades says that he and his dog Yiorgos occasionally stop by their favorite cafe.

Yiorgos is now 3 years old and has a muscle disease. He is a little weaker than most dogs and his gait is a little unsteady. Otherwise, Demetriades said he’s “a happy puppy, but he’s not like the neighborhood Speedy Gonzales.”

Demetriades said they were just settling into the cafe when Yiorgos was attacked by another customer’s much larger dog.

“All of a sudden I see the lady next to me fall and I’m trying to understand what’s happening,” he said, saying he “jumped straight at the dog to protect my dog.”

The dog dad and fitness trainer said he is a physiologist and kinesiologist, has played semi-pro soccer and dabbled in jiu-jitsu.

“Growing up in Greece, Greco-Roman wrestling is a required event for us in high school,” Demetriades said. “You have to know.”

He said his muscle memory kicked in.

“(I) grabbed him, rolled around on the ground with him and the owner picked him up from behind, pulled the dog, pulled me up on my leg a little bit and luckily I was OK,” Demetriades said.

Demetriades showed pictures of some of his scratches and bruises. He said luckily another customer caught Yiorgos in the scuffle, who appeared to be all smiles on Tuesday.

“I’m glad I’m okay and I’m glad he’s okay,” Demetriades said.

The other dog’s owner did not respond to Local 10 News’ request for comment as of Tuesday afternoon. Demetriades said he opened a case with Miami-Dade Animal Services.