Warning: Video contains images that could be disturbing to some viewers.
Police officers in Texas are looking for a woman or girl who allegedly posted a video showing her putting a dog inside a clothes dryer and turning it on.
The graphic footage was posted on Instagram and features the girl saying: “I’m gonna put his [expletive] back in the dryer.”
The woman picks up a dog that appears to be a Shih Tzu and places it inside the dryer.
She then turns on the machine and claps her hands, laughing, as the animal tumbles for around six seconds before opening the door.
After the door is opened, the dog quickly flees the area.
The Dallas Police Department said in an Aug. 12 statement that police and Dallas Animal Services are “aware of the video circulating on Social Media regarding a dog being placed in a clothes dryer.”
“Detectives are working jointly with the Department’s Fusion Center to locate the female in the video,” police stated.
Officials urged people to come forward with information.
“If anyone has information or knows the identity of the female in the video, please contact Detective Hannah Tamez at 214-329-8944,” police stated. No other information was available.
Man Charged After Video Shows Him Abusing Dog
A Maryland man was arrested over the weekend after police officers obtained a video showing him repeatedly striking and throwing his puppy down a flight of stairs.
The puppy, a Doberman pinscher, was given over to authorities, along with three other animals, after 37-year-old Robert Henry Reynolds Jr. was arrested, reported the Capital Gazette.
According to charging documents, the video showed Reynolds hitting the dog 19 times before slamming him, grabbing him by his neck, and hurling him down more than one flights of stairs.
He was charged with one count each of aggravated animal cruelty and animal cruelty.
Reynolds is currently being held without bond.
Animal Cruelty
The effects of animal cruelty reach beyond the animal victims, noted researchers for the Animal Welfare Institute in a 2012 report (pdf).
“Accumulating empirical evidence is demonstrating a strong association between animal cruelty and other crimes, including interpersonal violence, illegal possession of drugs and guns, and property destruction,” researchers stated. “Moreover, participation in animal cruelty in childhood is a significant marker for the development of aggressive and anti-social behavior, as well as a predictor of individuals who might engage in domestic violence.”
Nearly every state has passed laws making animal cruelty a felony in some or all cases, the researchers said, “a dramatic change” in how the crimes are viewed and prosecuted.
Data on domestic violence and child abuse cases reveal that a staggering number of animals are targeted by those who abuse their children or spouses, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
“There are approximately 70 million pet dogs and 74.1 million pet cats in the U.S. where 20 men and women are assaulted per minute (an average of around 10 million a year). In one survey, 71 percent of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets. In one study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 percent of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children.”
The society said that animal hoarding can hurt animals, with women as the main culprits; animal abusers, meanwhile, are most often men.
“Hoarding behavior often victimizes animals. Sufferers of a hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they are able to adequately take care of. Serious animal neglect (such as hoarding) is often an indicator of people in need of social or mental health services,” the group stated. “Surveys suggest that those who intentionally abuse animals are predominantly men under 30, while those involved in animal hoarding are more likely to be women over 60.
The most common victims are dogs, cats, horses, and livestock.
