An Oklahoma family is distraught after home surveillance video appeared to capture an 8-year-old boy beating and torturing their beloved six-month-old dachshund puppy last week.
The owners of the dog, who live in Lawton, were out to dinner last week when the boy allegedly attacked the pet, KSWO reports. When they returned, they were unable to find their puppy, named “Sprocket.”
In an attempt to find clues about what happened to Sprocket, the dog’s owner, David Winbush, checked the home’s video surveillance system. The footage reportedly showed the pup being punched, tortured and beaten by the unidentified little boy in the family’s own backyard.
Winbush recognized the suspect and went to his family’s home. Hours later, Sprocket was found pinned underneath a slab of concrete with a broken hip and two broken legs.
“I seen him pick my little dog up, slam it on the ground, physically punch and hold him between his legs,” Winbush said of the video to KSWO.
“I seen him … slamming my pet onto a privacy fence, flinging him in the air and beating him with a large blue tote.”
The boy, dressed in a hoodie and reportedly armed with a baseball bat at one point, is thought to have tortured the puppy for an hour.
Lawton Animal Welfare is recommending that charges be filed against the suspect, and the district attorney will be handling the case.
“It’s kind of disturbing especially when it’s repetitive like that,” Russell Anderson with Lawton Animal Welfare told the news station. “It’s hard to place into words but at this point, I’m focused on the child and hopefully we get the child some help.”
While the puppy survived the attack after undergoing surgery, Anderson warned that the type of abuse Sprocket endured could have lasting effects.
“This dog could be afraid of humans for the rest of his life,” Anderson said. “When this dog gets older he is going to be suffering. If you imagine a human suffering from arthritis, with severe injuries like this, long term, he’ll always have something with him and some sort of handicap if you will.”
A GoFundMe crowdfunding effort was established to help pay for Sprocket’s medical bills. According to an update on the fundraising page, a veterinary hospital generously offered to donate its services to the family. All proceeds will now be donated to a local veterinary hospital and clinic, the page states.
NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com |
[Feature photo: KSWO/screengrab]
