No animal deserves to be treated with cruelty. They are naturally noisy and annoying at times. Pet owners know what to expect before they even decided to get a dog. However, it cannot be avoided that there are other people who don’t like dogs. But this does not give them the right to hurt or abuse the animal.

This 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly strangling the dog to death. To make matters worse, he punched a child in the face just because he refused to help him get rid of the dogs’ body.

Robert Leroy Edwards was renting a room at Richard Hunts’ home. Out of the blue, he attacked the family dog as well as Hunts’ two sons. According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Edwards hung the family’s labrador retriever just outside the house using an electrical cord. The reason? He got annoyed because the dog, Midnight, was barking!

Ian Hunt, Richard Hunts’ son watched as Edwards attempted to hang the dog and he panicked. Richard said, “Words just don’t express the anger that’s inside me. My son called me, I think it was Wednesday morning, he called me hysterical. He said someone is killing Midnight, he is killing Midnight. He is trying to hang her. He’s hanging her.”

After Edwards killed the dog, he went inside the house and found Hunts’ son. He asked the boy to help him get rid of Midnights’ body. The boy refused to do what he asked which resulted in Edwards attacking the young boy. Richards’ older son, Ian, ran down after he heard the commotion.

Richard said, “My son and his girlfriend at this point hear the commotion going on and get up and confront him. And he jumps on my son and attacks him.” According to their statement, Edwards hit Ian Hunt “numerous times” in his face which left visible bruises. Edwards then proceeded to hide the dogs’ body but was later on found by the deputies. Midnights’ lifeless body was hidden in a boat on the Hunts’ property.

Midnight was Richards’ emotional support dog. He is a disabled veteran. He said that Midnight can always sense if he was having a mental or “living the moment” in his head. Richard said, “I can see her face that last minute, I can see her struggling, not understanding what’s going on, my heart, I mean, he’s such a scumbag to have done that to her.”

Randy Warren, the spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office stated, “He’s trying to get a child to try to go along with his plan of covering up with what he just did. Anger’s involved here and he channels that rage. We take this very seriously. This is just horrible. There’s no reason ever to harm an animal or harm a child. You know, and it the unfortunate part of it is that it doesn’t change what happened here for this family.”

Edwards was later on arrested. He was charged with two misdemeanors and battery, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as well as torture charges. For the authorities, it was disturbing to see how Edwards was smiling in his mugshot.

Richard Hunt is keen to make Edwards pay for his crimes. The veteran is planning to attend Edward’s court hearings this February after he was let go on a $62,000 bond.