A man was seen hitting his dog with a stick in shocking footage that was shown on national TV.
The video, which has not been shared with the ECHO, was taken by a witness of the cruel act at a home in Wirral and shown as part of Channel Five's The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies.
In the film, a man can be seen grabbing a long stick to bash a dog inside a tiny kennel - later found to be completely unsuitable for the dog and in a very poor condition.
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You can hear the witness who films the shocking evidence shout: "Mate, why are you doing that to your dog? Why are you treating your dog like that?"
The man below can be heard: "'Cos of his behaviour."
The witness responded: "Behaviour? He is not doing anything, you're just hitting him with a stick."
He shouts back: "That's because you haven't seen what he's done."
The witness said: "What's he done?"
The man then said: "Never you mind."
The witness then said: "We'll see what the RSPCA has to say, hey?"
The footage was picked up by RSPCA investigator Anthony Joynes who is shown organising the rescue on the show which aired tonight, Tuesday, June 22.
He said on the show: "Whenever that dog does anything wrong, that is the sort of treatment, at least, he is going to get, which for me, means the dog's in real danger."
Anthony had the footage reviewed by a vet to confirm the dog was at risk and armed with the paperwork and a team from Merseyside Police he went to the home to rescue the dog.
On the show, we find out the suspect is not at home but the person who answers the door allows them in.
The dog is a 10-year-old bull mastiff who is surprisingly friendly despite the cruel conditions he has had to live in.
After being reviewed, the dog was found to be underweight and a little apprehensive of the staff at first.
At the time of his rescue, he went by Achilles, but now he has a new name, Benny and new owners - Luis Estrada and Sophie Eleanor, from Manchester.
Sophie said: “Benny has settled in brilliantly now and is a very happy dog. In fact, he may be too happy. Vets had to amputate his tail recently because he injured it by wagging so much.
“He enjoys his daily walks and really enjoys swimming. He certainly doesn’t behave his age.”
The couple spotted him online and fell in love with his description.
Sophie added. “We went to visit him and fell in love with him. He was quite nervous when he first came here. He was anxious and wary; he didn’t know if he could trust us or not. But with time and patience he’s more settled. It’s been really rewarding to see him become so happy.”
*The Dog Rescuers is available on My5.tv
