A Florida man is being charged with a felony after admitting he injured his pit bull by beating it over the head with a belt.
An animal control officer says the injuries were so bad they justified a charge of aggravated animal cruelty against Ryan Bruna.
Bruna was arrested on Sunday after the Tallahassee Police Department responded to the Commons apartments about a dog being beaten.
When officers arrived, documents say they came across a brown Pitbull mix dog named "Ace" who was tied to a front porch banister. Responding officers noted that the dog was friendly, but had multiple red cuts on its head that appeared fresh and new.
According to court documents, investigators then spoke to three people, the owner of the dog, Bruna and one other person. As Bruna approached where the officers and the other people were standing, documents note that the dog began to retreat, shake, and whimper nervously.
As he was being taken to the jail, Bruna told officers he thought he could do whatever he wanted to the dog because he's the owner. They informed him that's not the way it works.