Police have charged a man with animal cruelty after TTC workers and passengers watched with disbelief as they saw him dragging a Australian Shepherd dog by the neck.
Friday's incident occurred at Coxwell station on the Danforth subway line.
Alex Stephenson told CTV News that the man "had the dog right by the throat and was choking it and then had it down on the ground, holding it by the neck. I've never seen anything like that."
A TTC worker said he saw the heavily-panting dog laying down. When he went to go up the escalator, he looked again and saw the man pulling the dog across the floor by the neck using the leash.
Others say they saw the dog pulled off a TTC bus and dragged down into the depths of the station. The sight left some onlookers in tears.
Police were called. They arrested the man and took the dog into custody.
The man is not the dog's owner. He is a dog walker.
He told police that he had taken the dog on a long walk with the 15-year-old, 65-pound Australian Shepherd cross. The dog was tired and needed a tug, he claimed.
"You can't do that," Stephenson. "This is Toronto, this is Canada. We love our animals."
The dog, who goes by the name Whisky, has been reunited with its owner.
However, Whisky will be held at the Toronto Humane Society overnight for observation.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Dana Levenson
