16-Year-Old Florida Boy Assaults Pet Dog Using Leather Belt, Charged With Animal Cruelty

A teenage boy was arrested and charged after his friend uploaded videos of him aggressively beating a dog with a leather belt. The incident took place in Palm Coast, Florida, on Monday (June 1).

The accused, identified as a 16-year-old boy, was arrested Monday morning for abusing one of the two dogs under his care.

According to authorities, the boy’s 7-year-old mixed-breed dog named Kush had defecated on the bedroom floor. The teenager stepped on it and got extremely angry, after which he started whipping the dog with a leather belt in order to discipline it.

His 15-year-old friend had uploaded two videos of the teen abusing the dog on the social media platform Snapchat.

The incident came to light after an individual who came across the videos alerted investigators. One of the videos was 14 seconds long and showed the teen hitting the dog twice as it yelped and tried to escape from the teenager. The dog also allegedly bit the suspect’s hand while trying to defend itself, however, the teen grabbed the animal and continued whipping it.

According to deputies, another 19 seconds video also showed the teen beating the dog while his friend laughed and recorded the incident. The teen also reportedly held the dog by its neck and pinned it to the ground before proceeding to whip it using the belt.

When authorities confronted the 16-year-old about the abuse, he told them that he usually uses a belt to discipline his dogs.

Meanwhile, the 15-year-old friend confessed to recording and uploading the videos.

Following the incident, the accused was arrested on charges of aggravated animal cruelty. He was being held at Flagler County jail and a charging affidavit was sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice for review.

Both the dogs which were under the care of the teen were seized by the Palm Coast Animal Control Department and were transported to a veterinary hospital for medical examination and treatment. The condition of the dog was unknown.

The identities of the boys were not revealed. No further information was available at the time.