Right now a Tampa man is in jail accused of repeatedly beating his dog with a metal pole.
"My husband could literally hear it from the inside of the house," said a neighbor on East Powhatan Ave.
The sounds so loud, neighbors dialed 9-1-1.
"The dog whining and screaming and being hit," she described.
Narendra Prashad faces a felony count of cruelty to an animal. He admits to beating his dog with a metal pole.
"There were injuries on the dog and it was pretty bad," said the neighbor.
They asked us to hide their identity because they're afraid of how he might react, when he returns home.
"He was cussing people out and being ridiculous...'I can discipline my dog if I want!'" she described his reaction to their confrontation.
Officers also say Prashad chained his Pitbull Boxer mix to a tree. Denying it food, water and shelter. We checked on his criminal background, he's got no history of animal abuse.
"I'm very shocked," says a different neighbor. This one says his house was always so quiet she didn't even know he had a dog.
"I never think he'd do something like that. He's a very good neighbor. Kept to himself," she added.
However, the other neighbor tells me this wasn't his first time.
"I had seen him hitting the dog briefly with a water hose and I yelled at him," she said.
It's noticeable most of the neighbors felt a sense of relief this man will face charges. But most importantly they are glad that for now this dog won't be forced to live in the home. Fortunately, the dog is recovering in the care of Hillsborough County.
"It freaks me out! If he's willing to do that to an animal, then what else is he capable of?" said a neighbor.
The county is also cracking down on animal abusers. Just last month they started a registry for those convicted of cruelty. We just checked in and while they don't have any offenders yet, they say they do have a few pending cases.
