Dog Returned To Woman Who Called Cops On Black Birdwatcher

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The woman who called police on a black birdwatcher in Central Park after being asked to leash her dog in compliance with park rules has been reunited with the animal after initially surrendering it back to a rescue group.

Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue returned former Wall Street executive Amy Cooper's dog this week after a veterinarian ruled the animal to be in good health, the rescue group announced on its Facebook page.

"We have coordinated with the appropriate New York City law enforcement agencies, which have declined to examine the dog or take it into their custody. Accordingly, and consistent with input received from law enforcement, we have now complied with the owner's request for return of the dog," the rescue group's statement reads.

Video of Amy Cooper calling police on birdwatcher Christian Cooper went viral after being posted on Memorial Day. In the video, Cooper's dog yelps and struggles while the woman tugs tightly on its leash, at times lifting it off the ground, while calling the police.

In a Facebook post, Christian Cooper wrote that he approached Amy Cooper because her dog was "tearing through the plantings" in the ramble. When Cooper declined to leash her dog, Christian Cooper said "if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it," and began to offer dog treats to Cooper's cocker spaniel.

Christian Cooper told CNN that he keeps dog treats on him because offering them to unleashed dogs usually get their owners to restrain them on the leash. The birder told CNN that he was "actually pretty calm," during his entire interaction with the dog owner.

Video of the ensuing altercation between Christian Cooper and Amy Cooper shows that the bird watcher remained that calm even as the woman called the police on him. At the beginning of the video, Christian Cooper tells Amy not to approach him and says "please call the cops" and "tell them whatever you like" after an initial threat to do so.

"I'm in the Ramble and there's a man — African-American — he has a bicycle helmet. He's recording me and threatening me and my dog," Amy Cooper says after calling the police.

"I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately," Cooper continues in a distressed voice.

Amy Cooper lost her high-powered investment job since video of the confrontation went viral after being posted to social media and New York City officials have called on the police to look into charging her with filing a false report. Her behavior also spurred state lawmakers to push a years-old bill to add filing a false report to a list of crimes eligible to be considered hate crimes.