NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A North Lauderdale man is facing four criminal charges after he was caught on a nearly three-minute video hanging two dogs from a fence as a cruel form of punishment, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.
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Deputies said the investigation into Terry Kirkland, 39, began with a tip to Broward Crime Stoppers last Tuesday: “A teenage girl from a local middle school recorded herself and her family members handing (sic) small dogs from a fence. The girl is a student at Margate Middle School.”
The incident, they said, happened at Kirkland’s home in the 6200 block of Boulevard of Champions.
An arrest warrant states that the video started with two dogs being suspended from the fence.
“The white dog then begins to yelp and (is) flailing around (and) Terry is saying something, but it is unclear what is being said,“ the Broward Sheriff’s Office warrant states. ”The white dog is suspended by its body harness; however, it is unclear to me what the brown dog is suspended by. Terry leans down towards the white dog, points his hand at the dog and says, ‘Where you come from my n----?’”
A child also is heard in the background, deputies said. They said Kirkland continued to admonish the dogs.
“What is wrong with you guys? You guys think you own this place,” deputies said Kirkland is heard telling the dogs. “I think we should keep you guys locked down.”
A BSO deputy then described what happened next.
“The brown dog is then seen flailing. The white dog then starts yelping again. Terry then lifts the brown dog by the leash, causing the dog to spin. You can see the brown dog has its tongue out. Terry, then let’s (sic) go of the leash,” the warrant states. “It appears to me that the harness the dog was wearing slipped and was pressing against the dog’s neck. The white dog was still yelping and flailing, and then the brown dog began flailing and attempting to claw at the fence in order to lift itself.”
The warrant states that Kirkland’s two children were heard pointing out that the abuse had been going on for two minutes and 12 seconds. Deputies said one of them “seemed amused” by it all.
Deputies said that as the “brown dog again begins to (flail) and claw at the fence,” Kirkland said “something along the lines of I can’t believe these ‘n----s’ are acting out on my property,” which, according to the warrant, indicated “this is a form of punishment towards the dogs.”
“The white dog begins to yelp and (flail) again, then starts clawing at the fence to attempt to lift itself,” the warrant states. “At this point, it appears the brown dog’s neck is kinked, indicating the harness did slip and was pressing on the dog’s neck.”
Deputies said the video cuts off after Kirkland says, “You know what imma gonna...” and lifts the brown dog off the fence with a leash.
“Throughout this video, both dogs appeared to be in extreme distress and were flailing about wildly and yelping repeatedly for the majority of the video’s duration,” authorities concluded. “Additionally, for a period of time within the video, it appears the brown dog goes limp, indicating the dog may have lost consciousness for a period of time.”
Authorities said “neither dog has been seen since the filming of this video,” so it wasn’t clear whether they were healthy or alive.
Deputies arrested Kirkland Saturday on two charges each of aggravated animal cruelty and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
As of Tuesday, he remained in the BSO Main Jail on a $20,000 bond.