- Moses Lake, WA
A Facebook video of a man beating a small dog repeatedly in his backyard led MLPD to charge a man with animal cruelty. The Facebook video showed the man repeatedly punching a dog in the backyard of a home. In the video another dog is seen running away from the man. MLPD arrested and charged 21-year-old Dakota O'Keefe with second degree animal cruelty.
MLPD Captain Mike Williams said the video was taken by O'Keefe's neighbor after they heard the commotion. The neighbor shot the video of the abusive reaction without O'Keefe noticing and then sent the video to police. When officers finally arrived on scene, O'Keefe said the dog, (in the video was seen being hit), had allegedly killed another dog at the home. In the video you can hear the dog crying and Okeefe cursing, kicking, and punching the dog.
Capt. Williams said a Chihuahua was found dead and was recovered from the home and appeared to have been killed by another animal. The other dog that ran away from O'Keefe was found and was then transported to the Grant County Animal Outreach Center, Williams said. As of right now it is still being determined whether or not the dog will be euthanized.
Police took Okeefe to the Grant County Jail in Ephrata and booked him in Sunday night. He was then released 5 hours later. Police also said that they might pursue removing other animals from the property that are still there.
Sunday evening, the MLPD posted on Facebook saying they were investigating a case of alleged animal abuse after a video started circulating on social media. The video was sent to the agency so they could begin the investigation.
In the Facebook post MLPD said,
“We understand how sensitive this topic is, as we are also animal lovers, and most of us, pet owners,”