VIDEO: Brevard kennel worker swings leashed dog

ROCKLEDGE (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A Brevard County man was arrested in Georgia after he was seen on surveillance video, allegedly swinging around a leashed dog.

It happened at a private kennel in Brevard County. The man was an employee, but has since been fired.

The owner of the kennel made two horrific discoveries. The first was the injured dog. The second was the video.

After another employee pointed out a Shih Tzu in their care was hurt, she went to the tape.

The only thing that kept going through my mind was, 'I have to stop him from ever being able to work at a kennel again,' said kennel owner Candy Pierce.

The suspect, 18-year-old Joseph Tyler Pendergrass, was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty.

Pierce said, after seeing the video, she immediately called the sheriff's office.

"If you can harm an innocent animal like that, what can you do to somebody else? What else are you capable of doing?" asked Sheriff Wayne Ivey.

Sheriff Ivey says his animal cruelty investigators found no other cases of abuse at the kennel. He's praising Pierce and her staff.

"To me they're heroes. They did exactly what we'd want them to do," Sheriff Ivey said.

The sheriff's office tracked Pendergrass to a train station, where he was getting off a train from Georgia. The sheriff said Pendergrass' family sent him to Georgia after he was fired from the kennel, adding they didn't want him around the children in the house and they were afraid of him.

Once they found out he was going to face criminal charges, they got him back to Florida.

Meanwhile, a vet told the kennel's owner the dog had a broken leg. They were not able to give an update on its recovery.