DORAL, Fla. – Doral police arrested a 73-year-old man on a felony animal cruelty charge Tuesday after authorities said he was caught on a surveillance camera abusing his dog.
Authorities said they responded to the Sanctuary Doral apartments, located at 9480 NW 41st St., at around 6 p.m. after a Miami-Dade Animal Services investigator notified them of an investigation into one of the building’s tenants, Mehrali Bahrami.
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An arrest report states that staff at the building had received “several complaints” about Bahrami, “who has been observed several times beating the dog in a cruel way.”
Police said they pulled up surveillance video from Aug. 20 which showed Bahrami walking through the hallway and “kicking the small dog in the head and body several times.”
“At no point,” police wrote in the report, was the dog seen attacking Bahrami.
Detectives went to Bahrami’s apartment and saw the dog tied up to the door with no food or water, police said. Additionally, authorities said there was a “strong odor” of urine, indicating dehydration.
Police said Bahrami’s wife told them she knew why officers were there and said “her husband had kicked the dog because he urinated in the building.”
Authorities said they saw her “nervously” giving the dog water while in their presence.
“The dog showed no signs of aggression towards these detectives on scene and in fact was playful,” police wrote.
Bahrami’s wife told authorities that the two had been having issues with their neighbor about their dog ever since they moved to the complex.
Bahrami, an Iranian national, was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Wednesday on a charge of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill.
A judge set his bond at $2,500.