Man turns himself into police after 'horrific' attack on a dog in east London

A 28-year-old man has turned himself into police in relation to a 'horrific' attack on a dog in east London.

Police had issued a warrantfor his arrest on Wednesday. He is charged with wilfullycausingunnecessary pain to an animal.

The incident happened May 17 at a building in the area ofWavellStreet near Park Avenue, according to Shannon Odendahl, who lives kitty-corner to where the alleged attack occurred.

"I wandered over to the fence, at which I witnessed that horrificattack on the dog punching it, kicking it, and a final blow to the head before he carried it back up the stairs by its neck."

"I was just paralyzed by the brutality of it", said Odendahl. "I just couldn't even move, couldn't say a word."

The investigation is ongoing but police are not looking for any other suspects.

Dog safe: police

Police saidthe dog was found on Monday and is now in a safe environment.

"The dog has been located. It's with the rightful owner, and the suspect in the case is not the owner of the dog," said Const. Scott Mandich.

When asked about the relationship between the suspect and the owner of the dog, Mandich said "they are known to each other."

Odendahl said her daughter made a number of calls to the London Humane Society and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals soon after the attack and they suggested she call police.

Odendahl's daughter said police initially told her "this is not our problem". However, through persistence, she said, police did send out an officer.

"He did tell me that he could see the dog in (the apartment), but nobody was answering the door, so there was nothing they could do."

Concerns for dog's welfare

Odendahl said the landlord who owns the apartment building where the attack occurred apparently lives in Toronto but provided police with video of the assault within hours of the incident.

But Odendahl is still concerned for the dog's welfare.She said the police officer called back to say they had seen the dog and that it was fine.She replied: "I would expect the dog to look fine [but]it's going to have suffered internal injuries, broken bones, and I'm seriously concerned about neurological damage from the kick to the head."

Mandichsaid the dog was assessed by the owner and London police were present at the time.

"There didn't appear to be any injuries. I can't comment on whether there's been a formal assessment done by a vet or not."

As for Odenhahl'sconcerns that police didn't seem interested in pursuingthe initial complaint,Mandich said London police take allcomplaints involvingcruelty to animals "very seriously."