Man spotted beating dog with horse whip

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - A Roswell man has been arrested for animal cruelty for allegedly beating his dog with a horse whip.

Chaves County sheriff's deputies said a sergeant on patrol witnessed Daniel Valdez holding down his dog by the neck and beating it repeatedly in his yard.

The patrol sergeant said he heard the female German Shepherd yelping. After spotting Valdez, 43, the sergeant said the dog was whipped more than a dozen times while the officer was pulling into the driveway.
  
When he told Valdez to stop, the sergeant said Valdez cussed at him and continued beating the dog.

"He went off on our officer, for lack of a better description, and cussed our officer to no end during this process, basically saying, 'it's my dog, I can beat it if I want to,' is basically what his contention was," said Lt. Britt Snyder of the Chaves County Sheriff's Department.

The sergeant called for back up, and said it took three deputies to finally arrest Valdez.

His dog has wounds on her nose, and is swollen on parts of her body. Snyder said Valdez offered no explanation for the beating.
     
Valdez has bonded out of jail and tried to get the dog back, but Roswell Animal Control officials said they'll keep the dog until the case goes to court.