Dog Owner Drags, Abuses Injured Pet During Walk, Incident Caught On Camera

In a case of animal cruelty, a dog owner was caught on camera abusing his injured pet during a walk along a street in Perth, Australia, on Tuesday.

The disturbing video of the incident, uploaded to Facebook, showed the unidentified man getting angry on the canine, which appeared to be limping on one leg, for stopping several times during the walk. The man then drags the dog along a footpath while hitting and spitting on it.

The woman who posted the video on Facebook said she stepped out of her property and asked the man to stop abusing the canine after she heard him screaming. The man, however, began abusing her instead. She immediately reported the incident to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and uploaded the video, which has garnered over one million views.

The RSPCA said it was seeking more information about the man and the incident.

“RSPCA WA (Western Australia) has received a number of complaints about the footage making the rounds. RSPCA WA would like to talk to the man in the video about the way he appears to be treating his dog. What we have seen is certainly concerning to us, and it is not the way we expect, or the community expects, to see animals treated,” the organization said in a statement.

The RSPCA said though the video footage would help during investigations, it urged people to contact them directly instead of posting videos and photos of incidents of animal cruelty on social media.

“If people see something they don’t think is right, as in this case today, video footage and photos can help inspectors to follow up with people who may be doing the wrong thing. However, we don’t want to see anyone putting their life, or the lives of others, at risk in doing so,” RSPCA WA chief inspector Amanda Swift said.

The organization also took to Facebook to call out for more information.

“If you have seen the footage and think you may know who he is, please call the Cruelty Hotline on 1300 278 358 to provide the information. Please do not name people in the feed below - please call the cruelty hotline to give information so it can be followed up via the proper channels. Your details will be kept confidential,” RSPCA WA posted.