Man caring for woman’s dog caught beating puppy on security camera, Florida cops say

A woman who left her dog in the hands of an acquaintance learned from a home security camera that he was repeatedly punching the year-old puppy for no apparent reason, according to Florida deputies.

The 35-year-old man, identified as Joshua David Lewis, has been arrested and faces felony animal cruelty charges, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 18 news release.

Lewis had been left alone with the dog on Nov. 30 when the alleged abuse was discovered, officials said.

“The dog’s owner, who was out of town, watched via home security camera as (he) repeatedly punched Charlie in the head and face with his fist and then beat the dog with a leash,” according to the sheriff’s office. “The owner told detectives she immediately returned to the house to retrieve Charlie.”

When the owner revealed what she had seen, Lewis admitted to striking the dog, saying “his anger got the best of him,” according to an arrest report.

Lewis, who lives in Chokoloskee, is also suspected of contributing to the death of an 18-year-old Maltese named Cocoa owned by the same woman, officials said.

In that case, which happened in April 2021, he is accused of throwing the dog into the yard after it “defecated in the house,” officials said. The senior dog was ill with cancer at the time.

He later tried to bring the dog back inside, and it “tried to bite him when he got close,” the sheriff’s office reported.

“When Lewis eventually got Cocoa, he threw the dog on the deck, leaving it in the heat. Cocoa’s owner found the dog covered in dirt and barely able to move,” officials said.

“Two days later the owner took Cocoa to a veterinarian and had to put the dog to sleep due to its injuries and condition.”

Lewis was arrested Jan. 18 at his job, and faces two counts of cruelty to animals causing cruel death or suffering, records show.

Collier County is about 100 miles west of Miami on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Man caring for woman’s dog caught beating puppy on security camera, Florida cops say."