WSVN — A 6-month-old dog was beaten so badly she suffered internal bleeding. A bystander saw what was happening and put a stop to it.
Chief Mark Overton: "He picked the dog up by its collar, basically threw it against a concrete pole."
Police say it was an ugly crime in beautiful Bal Harbour. Beachgoers witnessing one of the worst cases of animal cruelty the city has ever seen.
Chief Mark Overton: "The animal was exhausted. Its paws were bleeding."
This highlighted surveillance video shows the suspect, Gary Gordon, walking the dog by the Bal Harbor jetty.
Chief Mark Overton: "I was surprised. I didn’t expect to get a call that we had this type of case in Bal Harbor. I’m glad he decided to do it here though because we are going to pay a lot of attention to him and follow this case through the court system and not let it fall through the cracks."
Gordon was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He was taken to jail. The little 6-month-old female boxer mix was taken to Miami-Dade Animal Services.
Jason Atkinson: "All I could think about was how could someone do that to their dog? It was heart breaking."
Jason Atkinson works for the town of Bal Harbour. He is a dog owner himself. And he says he saw it all.
Jason Atkinson: "I took the dog back to our public works office and I gave the dog water and the dog continued to bleed on the floor. I really didn’t think the dog was going to make it."
Capt. Mike de la Rosa: "The dog was bleeding from its paws and from its backside. It was unable to walk and unable to stand up."
Officer Chris Destefano made the arrest, he said Gordon denied beating the dog, but did tell the officer that he walked the dog for about six miles.
Chief Mark Overton: "It seemed cruel and unusual to walk the dog for that distance where the paws were bleeding."
Bal Harbour doesn’t see these cases often, but on that Friday two weeks ago, these officers came to the dog’s rescue.
If you are wondering, someone has already come forward to adopt this dog. She’s now been named Ariel, and when Ariel sees the officers again, she jumps on the captain and gives him kisses.
That paw once bloodied, now pats the officer almost as if to say, ‘thank you.’
Capt. Mike de la Rosa: "As you can see, she’s a beautiful dog. A friendly dog. We are able to take her away from the environment she was in, where this gentleman was just hurting her, and now she will have a great life as a great family dog."
Gordon is out of jail on bond and has a hearing set for Oct. 30th.
In Bal Harbour Rosh Lowe, 7News.