A resident and a maintenance worker at an apartment complex had both reported seeing or hearing a man beating a puppy inside one of the apartments in the 2300 block of Hermitage Way.
One maintenance worker reported seeing the man holding the dog down, lifting his arm up and repeatedly punching the puppy on and off for about 30 minutes, according to a Speedway Police Department report. When the fist fell, the worker heard the dog’s cries.
A witness also reported seeing the dog outside with an injured leg, the report said. The puppy appeared to be avoiding putting weight on the leg.
Speedway Police officers knocked on the door of the apartment and smelled marijuana, before a man tried closing the door in their faces, the report said. The man admitted to smoking marijuana and told the officers where they could find it in the apartment.
Some of the marijuana was under a couch cushion where a puppy was sitting, and officers noticed a towel over the dog’s swollen, lacerated leg. While talking to police, the man admitted having a dog was a bad idea and that he’d punish the dog, according to the report. The man admitted hitting the dog with his shoes and holding the dog’s face in its own urine and feces.
The man surrendered the dog to police, and the puppy pit bull mix was given to a pit bull rescue that immediately gave it medical care.
Officers arrested 28-year-old Kenarda Smith on preliminary charges of torturing a vertebrate animal and possession of marijuana. He was not a resident of the apartment complex.
(WISH - February 24, 2012)
