SUDBURY -- Update:
The court case continues for a Sudbury man charged with animal cruelty after a video surfaced on social media in October allegedly showing him pulling a dog off the ground by its leash.
Sudbury police say they laid charges against a 62-year-old local man on Oct. 25 in connection to the incident.
The accused was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, but the case has been put over until Dec. 18 at 10 a.m.
Still no word on whether the man's animals have been removed or not.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General says they are unable to provide comment as the matter is currently before the court.
CTV News will continue to follow the case.
Original:
*Warning – some viewers may find some of the content disturbing.
SUDBURY – A Sudbury man is facing an animal cruelty charge after video allegedly shows him pulling a dog by its leash off the ground over his shoulder late last week.
The video, originally posted to Facebook on Oct. 24, shows an unidentified man standing in the middle of a street, allegedly pulling a German shepherd by its leash over his shoulder until the animal's feet are off the ground. The footage also reportedly shows the man yanking hard several times on the leash while a golden retriever, who appears to be off-leash, is also seen in the video.
The man who recorded the video wishes to remain anonymous, but told CTV News he removed the video from his Facebook page after the person in the video was allegedly identified in the comments section of his post. The video had been viewed over 20,000 times when he took it down the following morning. He then brought the information to police.
He told CTV News the incident happened in the New Sudbury neighbourhood on Magnolia Street. He says when he saw the man tugging on the two dogs he was walking, he wondered if it would go further, so he started recording.
The man that posted the video said he received many comments on his post asking why he didn't confront the owner.
"I have kids and don't need an assault charge or to have these two dogs decide to protect the owner," he said.
Sudbury police said taking matters into your own hands is not recommended.
"We do not encourage community members to approach or confront individuals when they witness a crime. We encourage people to contact police, and in this case, the man capturing the incident on videotape provided officers with grounds to very quickly arrest and charge the man," said Kaitlyn Dunn, corporate communications coordinator for Greater Sudbury Police Service.
Dunn confirms the incident was reported around 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 25, and that same evening, a 62-year-old man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty in connection with the incident.
The accused was released from custody and has a first appearance scheduled in Sudbury court on Dec. 4.
Police are working with animal welfare, who will determine whether or not the animals are removed.
CTV News reached out to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and was told they are not involved in this case.
"The Ontario SPCA gave back investigative services to the government in June of this year. You'd have to reach out to the police for comment as we are not involved," Alison Cross, senior director of marketing & communications for OSPCA, said in a statement to CTV News.
CTV News has confirmed that no conditions were placed on the accused when he was released from police custody on a promise to appear.
More information to follow.
