Video shows man pushing dogs to kill kitten in Detroit

A $1,500 reward is being offered for information in a brutal case of animal cruelty where a man was caught on a home surveillance video egging his two dogs to viciously attack and kill a kitten on Detroit's east side earlier this month.

Kristina Rinaldi, executive director of the Detroit Dog Rescue, said Wednesday that the video was brought to her attention by WXYZ-TV after a concerned member of Detroit 300, a community organization, came forward with it.

Rinaldi said the video shows the man with two dogs, pushing them to chase down the kitten and its mother.

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The mother "jumped up and was able to get into the house, but what was left behind was the kitten," Rinaldi said. "He said, 'Get it, get it.' One of the dogs grabbed the kitten and tore it apart. ...Sadly it's a disgusting act of violence that we're seeing over and over again. I was absolutely angry and disgusted all in one."

Rinaldi said the attack is disturbing for several reasons and she considers it to be a public safety concern.

"This is a really extreme and scary case because what we're seeing is someone actively chasing down an animal with his animals," Rinaldi said. "This is an animal that's being actively trained to attack. What we've learned through years of studies and psychology is that people who hurt animals, go on to hurt people. That is usually the case. To do something as unconscionable as this, they'll do it to someone else. You're a very scary individual that should not be on the streets of Detroit."

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Referencing a case of where a man's dogs fatally mauled a 4-year-old Detroit boy in December, Rinaldi said the city has seen other cases of animals being mishandled and trained to have dangerous tendencies. That man, Geneke Lyons, was found guilty earlier by a jury of involuntary manslaughter and given five years of probation, although the first 12 months of the sentence will be in jail with work release.

"This is a public safety hazard because now you have people training animals to do this," she said. "About a year ago, we just had a little boy just torn apart by dangerous animals. This is a public safety issue and we have to get to the root of it."

Follow Katrease Stafford on Twitter: @KatreaseS_freep