A Brickell man is speaking out for the first time after viral video showed him in a confrontation with several people who claim he pushed his dog into the bay on Brickell Key, then prevented others from helping the animal get out of the water.
The dog's owner, Kody Vidrine, tells NBC6 this was all an accident, insisting the dog fell into the water.
He’s sharing his side of the story after video -- posted by Only in Dade -- showed his dog struggling to swim. It went viral and sparked outrage.
"Absolutely not. That’s absurd. I don’t abuse animals. Animals are better than people," Vidrine said. "He’s my baby. He’s my world. He’s my everything, my best friend in the whole world."
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However, the video appears to show him yelling and even shoving two people who tried to get the dog out.
Vidrine claims the dog fell into the water after something caught the dog’s attention.
"At that time, my dog had slipped in the water," Vidrine told NBC6.
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The dog owner claims several people surrounded him, yelling that he was abusing the dog.
"I just kind of scooted him with my foot and some girl from out of nowhere walking with these people, like two other girls and a guy is like 'omg, he’s abusing his dog,'" Vidrine explained.
But JaDee Guidice -- seen in the water trying to help the dog -- told a very different story.
"I saw a man kick his dog into the bay." Guidice told NBC6.
Guidice claims after she saw Vidrine kick the dog into the water, he asked her to record him.
"He handed me his phone and said 'video me I do this all of the time. It’s part of my show.' I said absolutely not - the dog is struggling," Guidice said.
Video shows her pleading with the owner who the appeared to be standing watch and stopping anyone from coming to the pup's rescue -- leading to an intense confrontation involving several people.
He appears to charge at others standing nearby, including a man in a white shirt who quickly backs away.
"The man got irate. You can see from videos he got pretty aggressive," Guidice added. "He pushed another man and pushed me to the ground."
Despite the video, Vidrine claims he never touched her.
"If she wants to press charges, I’ll do the same thing because I didn’t put my hands on that girl period," Vidrine claimed.
Guidance said she ultimately made the decision to jump in and help.
"I was a lifeguard and competitive swimmer and I jumped in and tried to get the dog, but as soon as I jumped in, the man jumped in after me," she said.
It took three men to pull Guidice out of the bay -- water she said isn’t safe for people or pets.
"There's tons of boat traffic. We have seen sharks in the bay and crocodile warnings all over Brickell Key, so it didn’t make sense for this man to force the dog in the water," she added.
Eventually, Guidice said the owner allowed three men to pull the dog out to safety.
Vidrine said he’s sharing his side because he wants to set the record straight.
"I feel like it’s a big headache, a big headache," he added.
No arrests have been made, according to police.
