Man Denies He Was Beating His Dog

DENVER (CBS4) - His neighbors say they saw him beat his dog, but the dog owner says they were only playing.

Kenneth Loris was arrested, accused of cruelty to animals. He's now out on bond, Loris talked to CBS4's Jodi Brooks about the incident.

Loris has already spent six days in jail because he couldn't get the money for his $5,000 bond. If Loris is found guilty on the misdemeanor charge he could spend six to 18 months in jail.

"We were wrestling in the backyard, you know, like wrestling," Loris said. "I'll grab him, give him a noogie, he'll take off running, circle me, you know. Look, I'm on my knee you know."

Neighbors reported to police that Loris was beating and attacking his pit bull mix.

"He would go running through my corn and I'm right here wrestling," Loris said.

Last Friday several neighbors were at a neighborhood swimming pool when they saw what they thought was Loris beating his dog.

"I don't want to make no comments, I don't want to get involved," witness Martin Rosales said. "Well, he was playing with his dog. To me, I don't think it's the right way to play with a dog."

"The guy got angry, he punched the dog," witness Naomi Velazquez said.

"You don't grab a dog by its mouth and have it right in front of you and grab it and flip it over and slam it down. That's not playing," witness Jessica Beckwith said.

"He gets me in a hold, I get him in a hold. I wasn't standing over him beating my dog," Loris said. "We were wrestling, playing. He would do circles, run through the corn. I would try to catch him."

Loris faces one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.

"I can't be around pets, livestock because of someone said something and took some picture. I said they better have a video," Loris said.

There actually is video, shot with Velazquez's cellphone, but it was shot too far away to really tell what was happening.

"I've never beat a dog, a woman, a wimp, for that matter," Loris said.

"I mean you don't do your elbow and hit it on the side of the head, grab its throat and they use a closed fist and just punch it," Beckwith said.

For now Loris's dog is being held by animal control. He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 24.