ATLANTA — At first, it seemed like a normal taxi ride for Amun Pride with his two bags and 5-month-old puppy, Wasabi, in the back seat with him.
However, he ended up with no dog or bags.
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When he arrived at 710 Peachtree Street on Tuesday night, he needed to run upstairs to pay his cab fare. He says he told the taxi driver he would leave his dog and bags as a promise he would return with the money.
“He’s like, there is no way you’re not coming back for that (dog),” Pride said.
Pride said while going upstairs he got stuck in an elevator when the fire alarm went off.
Police confirmed that firefighters did respond to an incident at the complex around the time Pride was dropped off.
“It probably took me 20 minutes, maybe 25 minutes to get downstairs. When I came back, the guy was gone,” Pride said. “My dog was gone. My dog, my stuff, and the car was gone.”
Pride says he thinks the cab driver stole the dog.
Channel 2 Action News was able to contact the cab driver over the phone. We are not naming the driver as he is not charged with a crime. The driver says he waited around an hour for Pride to return downstairs.
“I was outside for as long as I could have been, so I did what I had to do,” the driver said.
The cab driver said he put the bags and the puppy on the curb and left.
“I’m not a storage room, so I got rid of his belongings,” the driver said.
Pride isn’t buying the explanation, as the puppy is a very expensive French bulldog.
“No one would leave the dog on this intersection to run in the street and get run over. Why would you do that?” Pride said.
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Despite the contrasting story, the fact remains a taxi ride ended with a man missing a dog.
“I feel like a terrible dog parent, to be honest with you, that I left her in the hands of a stranger,” Pride said.
Police are looking into the case.
According to the police report, security cameras were not pointing in the right direction and could not verify either person’s story.
The case is currently filed as lost property.
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