The alleged beating of an old dog on a Dunedin suburban street has horrified passersby who came to the animal's defence.
Jaime Turner said she was driving along Elgin Rd, Mornington, about 7.30pm on Monday, when she and her partner saw a man beating an old Labrador with a metal dog lead.
''I slowed down, and saw him cornering the dog in a bus shelter ... just beating it.''
Another shocked motorist also stopped and got out of their vehicle, Ms Turner said.
The old dog was ''squealing ... like it was in pain''.
As soon as they pulled up, her partner opened the passenger side door. The dog jumped inside and cowered on the back seat.
''It was very, very frightened,'' she said.
The man told them he had beaten the dog because it ate his food.
He thought the dog ''deserved it and he was teaching it a lesson and thought it was funny we found it so upsetting'', she said. When contacted, the dog owner said the accusations were wrong.
''I wouldn't beat my dog''.
The man said he yelled at his dog, which he had owned for nine years, because it had ''chewed off its chain and ran on to Kenmure Rd''.
He confirmed he spoke to police at the scene, who later contacted SPCA about the incident.
No action was taken.
That was little comfort for Ms Turner, who said others also witnessed the incident, including an elderly man who lived nearby, and another motorist.
Police questioned all parties at the scene, during which she kept the dog locked inside her vehicle.
The attending officer was advised by Dunedin City Council's animal control to ring the SPCA.
The SPCA after-hours service advised the officer to check for any visible wounds and, if there were none to give the dog back to his owner, which he did.
Ms Turner said she was ''disgusted'' no-one from the SPCA came to check the dog.
Calls to the SPCA were not returned.
