MISSION, Texas (KVEO) — Police in Mission, Texas, arrested a 59-year-old man after video showed him dragging a dog by its neck behind his motorized scooter.
The shocking, profanity-laced video was posted to Facebook by Melissa Janelle Torres. It’s been viewed thousands of times.
The woman filming the video yells, “Don’t worry I’ll call the cops on you!”
To that, the man on the scooter, identified as Mario Cardona, yells back, “Call ‘em! It’s my dog!”
Mission police made contact with Cardona just 15 hours after the complaint was filed. He was arrested and charged with animal cruelty.
“You know something like this is great because somebody actually provided us with video evidence,” Mission Police Lt. Jody Tittle said of the video. “Sometimes animal cruelty is hard to prove, you know, as bad as that may sound.”
The dog, a German Shepard mix named G2, was cleared by Mission Animal Control and is said to be in good health. He remains in their custody.
Cardona has a lengthy criminal history that includes charges of assault, driving while intoxicated, criminal mischief and possession of cocaine.