A 12-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after allegedly beating his dog with a metal pipe.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy arrested the juvenile after his mother contacted Animal Control and Social Services to report that her son had tied their dog up and beaten it. The sheriff’s office was then called and the boy was charged with one count of aggravated animal cruelty.
The bloody, unconscious dog named “Tiny” was found in the backyard of the boy’s home on Monday after a witness who was repairing a broken water pipe asked about the animal. The boy said he was tied up in the backyard and twice attempted to get to the animal before the witness could see the unconscious dog with a rope around its neck and blood on its face, a sheriff’s office report states.
The boy told a sheriff’s deputy that he tied Tiny to a tree in the backyard with a rope and began to discipline him by hitting him with his hands and a stick. He said he also hit the dog with two silver metal pipes and claims to have struck him a total of 10 times in the face and body. He also told the deputy, “I think I took it a little too far,” the report says.
Tiny is being medically evaluated by Animal Services and was reported to be recovering well, the report says.