Pit bull getting walked by person inside car in Los Angeles; Witnesses worry dog may be training to fight

LOS ANGELES - A disturbing case of animal abuse was captured on cell phone video on Tuesday morning on Gower Street near Willoughby Avenue in East Hollywood. 

Witness Mayra Perez was out walking her dog when she noticed a driver in a gray Honda circling the area. 

The driver’s Pit bull, on a leash, was struggling to keep up as the vehicle moved at an estimated speed of 15 to 20 miles per hour.

"It's infuriating to see something like that... especially with a senior dog," said Perez.

The cell phone footage shows the driver forcing the exhausted dog to run alongside the car, with witnesses describing the dog showing signs of distress. 

"He was definitely dragging him... the dog was panting, and he was clearly exhausted," Perez adds.

Perez described the Pit bull as appearing to have a broken back limb or an injury that hadn't healed properly. Despite the dog's visible pain and exhaustion, the driver showed no signs of stopping.

Animal rights advocate Kris Kelly, who runs the nonprofit Kris Kelly Foundation, expressed outrage at the incident, noting that such behavior is typical among those who train dogs for fighting. 

"If he's doing that in plain sight, what is he doing behind closed doors? This is typical behavior of someone training their dog to fight. In his mind, he's trying to look cool, showing off that he's training Pit bulls to fight," she said.

Perez and her partner reported the incident to the Los Angeles Police Department and turned over the cell phone videos they recorded. They are hopeful someone will recognize the driver and report him to authorities.

The vehicle involved is a gray Honda, and the plates do not come back to a Hollywood resident. 

Anyone with information on the dog or the owner is asked to call LAPD.