A 27-year-old Santa Monica resident was arrested Thursday, March 7 after violently beating his girlfriend’s four-year-old pug/beagle.
At 5:11 pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the 1300 block of 11th Street after they had learned of a possible domestic violence incident that had just occurred.
When the officers arrived they spoke with a woman who was crying hysterically.
The officers were able to gather from the woman that her live-in boyfriend had violently beaten her pet dog and had informed her that he intended to kill the animal.
The officers detained the live-in boyfriend.
The officers then learned that a neighbor had already taken the badly injured four-year-old pug/beagle mix to a local emergency pet hospital for medical attention.
The officers entered the apartment in question and saw that there was a large amount of blood, urine, and feces around the living room where the abuse had taken place.
The officers investigated further and discovered that this was not the first time that the live-in boyfriend had violently abused the dog.
Apparently, on this date, the live-in boyfriend had called his girlfriend and informed her that he was about to take the animal’s life because the creature had bitten him.
The girlfriend had then rushed home and when she arrived there she witnessed the live-in boyfriend throw the poor animal against a wall and then kick the dog as she sought safety under a table.
The girlfriend had then grabbed her pet and ran outside seeking help, and as she was doing this, the live-in boyfriend had continued to punch the dog several times.
The officers took this Santa Monica man into custody, and he was charged with cruelty to animals.
Bail was set at $80,000.
The dog suffered internal injuries that required several days’ stay in the animal hospital, but thankfully is expected to recover.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com.
