An East Haven man has been charged with animal cruelty after he was caught on camera allegedly kicking his dog while on a walk on Memorial Day.
Salvatore Follo, 68, is facing two counts of cruelty to animals and one count of failure to license.
East Haven Animal Control officers said they were alerted by a concerned citizen on Monday who said they watched a man kick his dog while out on a walk on Dodge Street on Monday. That person recorded it, and officers posted the video to social media.
The video shows the man yelling ‘stop it’ to the dog, a 130-pound Cane Corso, that was jumping. He then kicks the dog to the ground, causing him to fall down.
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Officers said they received anonymous tips from community members who identified the man as Follo and his dog Enzo.
The video also caused another person to come forward on Tuesday, saying they saw the same man kick the dog again during a walk on the same road.
“So based on that information, we went to where Enzo was, and charged the owner,” said Assistant Animal Control Officer Owen Little. “We obviously are not gonna leave the animal in that condition, so we seized the animal, pending the investigation.”
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Little thanked the community for speaking up in this case.
“This would’ve never happened if not [for] that person [who] stepped up and said, 'I’m gonna go put myself out there and I’m gonna testify,'” he said. "Had we not had social media, this probably wouldn’t have gotten noticed.”
Animal advocates are grateful more and more people are speaking out about abuse when they see it.
“Everybody came together and it takes a village. It takes an army, you know, to protect animals and speak up for them,” said Robin ‘Zilla’ Cannamela of Desmond’s Army. “They have no voice and it's really encouraging to see people starting to speak up for those that can't speak for themselves.”
Enzo was taken to an animal hospital in North Haven where he was evaluated and found to not have any injuries.
Follo is due in court on June 6.
