Two videos circulated on social media this week showing dogs being punched, poked, and prodded in South Florida. It’s caused outrage among internet users and has left us to question: What can be done to hold these people accountable?
Video from Only in Dade was posted earlier this week of a dog being beaten multiple times in Homestead.
And another video — also sent to Only in Dade by an anonymous viewer — shows a dog being forcefully poked with a stick by its owner in North Miami. The dog is then brought inside to be beaten multiple times.
Miami-Dade County Animal Services said that if they don’t have evidence, or a witness willing to attest to what they saw, it becomes harder to prosecute the owners. Right now, both cases are still being investigated, leaving thousands across social media concerned for their welfare.
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“I found these videos to be very disturbing," said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin M. Cabrera. "I think like anyone else who would see this, it’s animal cruelty it’s very obvious what’s going on."
NBC6 reached out to all of Miami-Dade’s commissioners and only two spoke on the subject. NBC6 also reached out to Mayor Danielle Levine Cava’s office for comment, and her office referred us to the county’s animal services.
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Commissioners Cabrera and Rene Garcia said that the county follows a state statute and chapter 5 of the county code, which has fines starting at $1,000, and it increases depending on the crime and the number of animals involved.
State statute makes it so those who commit animal cruelty could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor or issued a $5,000 fine. Those who try and harm someone else’s animal can be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor or a $10,000 fine. It also states that a person who is a repeat offender or commits animal cruelty on multiple animals could be charged with separate offenses for each act.
But in these cases where video is posted online, Garcia said that more is needed to implement these statutes.
“If there is not a witness that can testify or attest they saw this, then it becomes really hard for the state attorney’s office to prosecute these cases," Garcia said.
Gabrielle Dominguez with Miami-Dade Animal Services echoed that sentiment.
“A lot of times people see these animal cruelty acts and immediately go to social media, and that sometimes hinders the investigation, as it does right now for one of these cases," Dominguez said. "You are sending it in as anonymous and then you don’t want to be involved in the case, and unfortunately in order to be able to prosecute the person or people involved in these cases, we need the witness to come forward and say at this day and at this time I recorded this video. They need to fill out a witness affidavit. And they may even need to testify in court.”
Dominguez said they are working on both cases, but anonymous videos on social media have been hindering their investigations.
“That video, yes, it’s out there, yes, we see what’s going on, but we can’t use that in court as evidence if that person doesn’t come forward," she said. "So, a lot of times, people run to social media and post these videos, and then in the comments, people try to see where these people live, and they try to take matters into their own hands, and that definitely impacts our investigation."
“We don’t know when this video is getting recorded — it could have been recorded last week and it’s just getting posted now. They are just going to the person's house now," Dominguez said. "When we go to do our investigation to check the welfare of the animal, we can’t get in, the person is not there, because the person has already been alerted that we are coming.”
County commissioners assured like with any criminal case, those who pressed record would be protected by law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office.
For the case in Homestead, as of Wednesday, Miami-Dade Police told NBC6 detectives are still investigating and "collaborating with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in order to determine whether or not valid probable cause exists to effect an arrest."
For the case out of North Miami, police said in a statement to NBC6 that it is aware of the video.
"North Miami Police investigators are working diligently to positively identify the person depicted in the video and locate the dog to assess and properly document the nature of any injuries," the statement read in part. "The North Miami Police Department remains committed to the protection of all animals. We will not waiver in our commitment to hold all perpetrators of animal abuse accountable for their action(s)."
They urged the community to report incidents of animal abuse to 911. Anyone with information on the case should contact Detective Bohne at 305-891-0294.
Miami-Dade Animal Services said that if you see something, you are asked to call 311 or 911, and that these investigations can be lengthy as these animals are considered someone’s property.
