Dog Saved From Owner Police Describe As Abusive

A video posted on Facebook shows a man on a wheelchair beating his dog when it apparently stops pulling him across the street. Gut wrenching images for any animal lover. Many people reacted to the video and were on the lookout for the man and the dog, including the SPCA Animal Control. Our cameras were there when they went to a home on Mariposa Street and found them. He’s telling me he slapped the dog, obviously he feels comfortable disciplining the dog the way you see in the video,” Lt. Joe Gomez said. The SPCA first got a call about the abuse on Wednesday and responded but didn’t get anything so they kept an eye out. The video was shared on Facebook over the last two days so people kept police and the SPCA aware of the man’s whereabouts. “I’m really glad we were able to do this and get this man now… He’s not getting that dog back, it’s going to a new home,” Lt. Gomez said. Ginger didn’t have any visible injuries but appeared to be very frightened. She was taken to a vet to be evaluated. “We’ll see if that dog has any other injuries and then that charge will be upgraded to a felony,” Lt. Gomez said. The man on the wheelchair, 44 year old Leon Scherf did not want to sign the dog over and for now received a misdemeanor citation.