DANSVILLE – A video posted to Facebook of an eight-year-old boy hanging a dog from a backyard playset led to the dog’s removal from the home on Tuesday by the Livingston County Sheriff’s office and the Dansville Police Department.
When they learned of the abuse, The Sheriff’s office and Dansville Police teamed up to find the address and remove the dog from the home.
WARNING GRAPHIC: See the original video here.
“If you hadn’t seen the video you wouldn’t know that the dog had been through what it had,” said Dansville Police Chief Charlie Perkins. “I’m no veterinarian, but the dog appears to be in good health. It runs, jumps, plays, eats and sleeps just like any other dog. It was licensed, well fed and watered, and was up to date on all of its shots.”
Chief Perkins added that in many child-animal abuse cases, the parents are unemployed or have drug and alcohol issues, or there are mental health problems or domestic violence in the home. Chief Perkins says that the child’s parents are kind, polite and cooperative with the investigation, and are just as horrified as everyone else at the video.
The child is known to have a special needs, and Dansville Police is working with several outside agencies specializing in child issues to develop a plan for the dog and child. Chief Perkins said that the ideal resolution would be for the dog and child to live safely together, perhaps by means of mandatory supervision whenever the two are in contact. It is possible however that the dog and child will have to be separated.
Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty stresses that contrary to the buzz on social media that his office took five months to respond to the abuse, his office first learned about the incident late Tuesday afternoon.
The Sheriff expressed gratitude to those who eventually did make his office directly aware of the situation, and reminded people to call 911 immediately when they feel that they are witnessing or have witnessed any crime.
PHOTO CAPTION: Image and video from Facebook.com.