Content warning: This article and video include disturbing details of alleged animal cruelty.
A woman is under arrest amid an investigation by Dallas Police into an allegation of animal cruelty, where a woman says her neighbor beat a small dog with a baseball bat.
Maria Alvizo said her family gathering on Sunday was cut short when they heard a disturbing noise outside.
“We heard cries, and we came out and we saw the dog crying and the neighbor beating it with a metal baseball bat,” said Alvizo.
She said family members pulled out their phones and captured the woman, Alvizo’s next-door neighbor, as she was hitting the dog.
She said her family tried to intervene.
“We were telling her we were going to call the cops on her for her to stop and she just didn’t care. You can see in the video where she’s just saying, ‘I do not care. Y’all need to mind y’all’s business,'” Alvizo said.
Police responded to the call and released a statement Wednesday night to NBC 5: “Dallas Police responded to an animal cruelty call in the 13300 block of Cloverbrook Lane. The preliminary investigation determined that a suspect was seen striking a dog with a bat. No arrest has been made. This is still an ongoing investigation.”
Dallas Police confirmed Thursday afternoon that a person has now been taken into custody in the case. Police did not release the suspect’s name or specify what charges they’ll face.
Alvizo and other neighbors told NBC 5 the dog was small, and they believed it was a stray. She said the dog continued to cry and eventually wandered off. Meanwhile, word spread throughout the Southeast Dallas neighborhood. Several people have been searching for the dog, hoping to find it. One neighbor even brought her dog to assist with scent detection.
Alvizo said what she witnessed has been hard to shake.
“Like a child, it has a heart, you know? It has feelings, and it’s just heartbreaking,” she said.