South Florida man accused of choking, slamming service dog to ground

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida man is accused of abusing a service dog on two separate occasions last week, authorities said.

According to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Juan Latrez Poole, 52, of Boynton Beach, was arrested on Sept. 14. He was charged with felony animal cruelty.

Poole was arrested after both alleged incidents were captured on surveillance videos, police said in a news release.

On Sept. 9, a witness reported seeing a man lift a black lab above his head “and slam it to the ground,” the release stated. The animal, named Rex, was wearing a red service dog vest and appeared to weigh approximately 50 pounds.

Officers responding to the scene could not locate the man or the dog, the Sun Sentinel reported.

On Sept. 10, another witness reported seeing a nearly identical incident several blocks from the first one, WPBF reported.

According to the police news release, the caller said she “watched in horror” as the man allegedly choked the dog with its leash, lifted the animal off the ground and struck it with a water bottle.

“The caller stated the dog was visibly terrified, shaking, and cowering,” police said.

Police recovered surveillance footage that captured both incident.

In the first video, a man later identified as Poole was seen lifting the dog completely off the ground -- even holding it upside down -- before “slamming it to the pavement.” In the second video, the man is seen yanking the dog’s leash, striking the animal with a bottle and hoisting it by its neck several feet into the air before dropping it to the ground.

According to body camera video released on Wednesday, Poole, who was handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, told an officer that Rex did not have any “bruises” and was not “damaged” after the officer explained the charge against him, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Poole denied the officer’s explanation that two witnesses saw him harm the dog.

“I’ve never hit my dog, and that is completely untrue,” Poole said in the body-camera video. “Unless you have some kind of video evidence, is what I’m looking for.”

Poole was identified during a photo lineup by a witness, police said.

He has been released from jail after posting a $30,000 bond, court records show.

Rex was transported to Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control and “is currently looking for his forever home,” police said.

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