Video helps identify man accused of kicking dog in East Haven – NBC Connecticut

An East Haven man has been charged with animal cruelty after he was filmed kicking his dog during a Memorial Day walk.

Salvatore Follo, 68, faces two counts of animal cruelty and one count of failure to obtain a license.

East Haven animal control officers said they were alerted Monday by a concerned citizen who reported seeing a man kick his dog while he was walking on Dodge Street Monday. That person recorded it and officers posted the video on social media.

The video shows the man yelling “stop it” at the dog, a 130-pound Cane Corso, who was jumping. He then throws the dog to the ground, causing it to fall.

Officers said they received anonymous tips from community members who identified the man as Follo and his dog Enzo.

The video also led to another person coming forward Tuesday, claiming to have seen the same man kick the dog again during a walk on the same road.

“So based on that information, we went to where Enzo was and charged the owner,” said Assistant Animal Control Officer Owen Little. “We are obviously not going to leave the animal in this state, so we have seized it, pending the investigation.”

Little thanked the community for speaking out in this matter.

“This would never have happened without this person (who) stepped in and said, 'I'm going to put myself forward and I'm going to testify,'” he said. “If we didn’t have social media, this probably wouldn’t have been noticed.”

Animal rights activists are grateful that more and more people are speaking out against abuse when they see it.

“Everyone came together and it takes a village. It takes an army, you know, to protect the animals and stand up for them,” said Robin 'Zilla' Cannamela of Desmond's Army. “They don’t have a voice and it’s really encouraging to see people starting to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves.”

Enzo was taken to a veterinary hospital in North Haven where he was evaluated and found to have no injuries.

Follo is due in court on June 6.