By Nicole Bode
DNAinfo Associate Editor
MANHATTAN — New Yorkers outraged by a disturbing surveillance video that shows a Morningside Heights man brutally beating a defenseless dog have unleashed their anger across the Internet.
Irate commenters called for everything from castration to amputation to deal with accused dog abuser Chris Grant, who was caught on camera kicking his girlfriend's 12-pound Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix on Jan. 2.
"This man needs to be surgically castrated at a dog show. That might help him with his sociopathy and it would make the rest of us feel a little better about this shocking violence," a DNAinfo commenter with the username Advocate posted on the site.
“I would like five minutes alone with that man. He should have his legs ripped off. Worthless piece of crap,” wrote a reader with the username Nanny3.
One reader got so infuriated, he posted a home address and phone number believed to belong to the suspect. DNAinfo removed the address.
Grant was visiting his girlfriend at the city-owned housing complex the Grant Houses on 125th Street around 2 a.m. last Saturday when he took the dog, named "Chuvi-Duvi," on a short walk to the bodega across the street, police said.
A five-man team from the NYPD's VIPER Unit, Housing Division (Video Interactive Patrol Enhancement Response), happened to be on the scene monitoring security video for suspicious activity because it was the same building where they had helped catch the suspected killer in the fatal stabbing of a 9-year-old-boy hours earlier.
Police watched as Grant began kicking the tiny black-and-white pooch around the inside of the elevator, police said. They tracked the dog back to the apartment and removed it for treatment, they said.
Grant was arrested Jan. 4, when he returned to his girlfriend’s apartment.
He was charged with animal abuse, torturing an animal and resisting arrest, all of which are misdemeanors, police said. He was released the same day on $1,000 bail, the Department of Corrections confirmed.
It was Grant’s second brush with jail. He spent two days in Rikers in November on charges of drug possession and sale, according to court records.
Police brought a battered Chuvi Duvi to the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Hospital on East 92nd Street after the the attack.
After a thorough checkup, the cost of which they waived, the hospital released the dog to the owner, as required by law, a spokeswoman said.
“The person who abused the dog was not the owner, legally, we had to release the dog,” said ASPCA spokeswoman Anita Edson.
“The dog at this time is ok. There weren’t any injuries, any at all, which is miraculous,” Edson added.
She said the animal hospital deals with a steady stream of abused animals, not all of whom have their abuse caught on camera.
“You look at the video and it does make you angry,” Edson said.
To report a case of suspected animal abuse, call the ASPCA at (212) 876-7700, ext. 4450. Or, to make a donation, go to http://www.aspca.org/donate/ or call (800) 628-0028.
