“The video is hard to watch. You’re going to have a gut reaction,” said Constable Wayne Thompson. “It’s not going to be nice, it’s disturbing.”

And he’s right – parts of the video can be found in the news story down below, but we’re not going to show graphic images of animal abuse.

What you’ll see if you choose to watch it is a 10-year-old boy from Fort Bend County, Texas hitting, choking, and yelling at his German Shepherd who he has pinned up against a wall.

Why anyone would do such a thing or share such a video is beyond comprehension.

Constable Thompson is the only officer in Precinct 3 of the county trained in animal cruelty investigations – but that doesn’t make it any easier for the animal-lover to see videos like this.

He understands why people are calling him non-stop to report the abuse and make sure the dog is safe.

“We’ve had phone calls all day since Friday,” he fold Fox 10 Phoenix. “There’s petitions with over 16,000 names. People have called from Canada, London, and from all over the United States.”

Despite the video looking quite violent, it appears to be the boy just showing off to his friend. Home alone, the 10-year-old decided to have his pal record the bizarre incident. But after it was posted and he was tracked down, he showed enormous remorse for what he had done.

Still, there’s no excuse and we hope he gets the help he needs.

As for the German Shepherd, her name is Bella, and she has now been examined by two separate veterinarians for any signs of injury or previous abuse. Neither vet could find any evidence at all – including evidence of the scuffle that was recorded.

“This boy was very remorseful he was crying when our investigator was over there,” said Thompson.”

Oddly, Bella was still very affectionate towards him and was sitting on his lap as he was questioned.

Dogs can be enormously forgiving.

The boy – whose name has not been released because he is a child – has been disciplined by his mother.

Since Thompson’s investigation turned up no other evidence of animal cruelty and the dog had no injuries to speak of, there’s not much to be done. However, the case is still under review by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s office.

If that office does take action against the boy, the details will not be made public since he is a juvenile.

That means people are frustrated. It’s hard to watch the video and not want justice for the dog. But she appears to be fine.

So what now?

Well, sadly, some people are now committing crimes against the boy and his mother by making death threats – a terrible move and not one that helps teach anyone a lesson. In fact, these so-called animal lovers are now the ones most likely to receive punishment.

And in some cases, it will be well-deserved. While some will believe he’s getting what he deserves, the boy is only 10 and is now afraid for his life and cannot go outside without fearing that someone will hurt him.

“Some of the comments have been quite repulsive about this child that are probably more worrisome than what actually occurred on the video,” said Thompson.

Clearly the adults in the situation don’t see that what they’re doing is just as bad if not worse. It’s never ok to threaten a child.

For now, animal advocates are still trying to have the dog legally removed from the home. While some have circulated videos allegedly showing the boy abusing another animal in the house, that video does not show the perpetrator clearly and no evidence of any other animals was found in the home.

For more on the story (that does – you’ve been warned – include clips from the boy’s video), you can scroll down below.

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Source: Fox 10 News Phoenix, KHOU News, Constable Wayne Thompson via Facebook