This is the shocking moment a dog owner was caught kicking and whipping his pet dog – before turning on his neighbour trying to get justice.
Lee Archer can be seen on doorbell footage lashing out and hitting the dog causing it to yelp.
A distraught neighbour, who asked to be anonymous, says she fears for her safety after reporting the incidents of violence to Devon and Cornwall Police and the RSPCA.
The owner, a pet owner herself, called Archer a ‘horrible person' and said the sounds coming from the flat and the footage caught on video makes her ‘feel sick'.
In the video, Mr Archer is seen walking his Staffordshire bull terrier-looking dog and randomly kicking it as it looks visibly afraid.
In one of the clips, the animal is walking along the ground when he whips it with the lead for seemingly no reason causing it to cower to the ground before kicking the dog causing it to yelp.
To make matters worse, in another section of the footage, after the neighbour started sharing the videos to a community group on Facebook, Mr Archer starts to target her calling her a ‘slag' and making other vile comments directly to the doorbell camera.
Lee Archer, pictured, can be seen on doorbell footage lashing out and hitting the dog causing it to yelp
She said that even her dog has become reserved and scared from hearing incidents of violence in the neighbouring flat.
On one occasion, on October 1, she said things were so bad she called 999 after hearing the pet ‘scream'.
‘I'd never heard anything like it', she said.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said it attended this particular incident at around 11.40pm but the dog appeared fine so officers left. The RSPCA won't comment on individual cases but the neighbour has confirmed she's reported multiple instances and has a case reference number but the dog remains in Archer's care.
About the time she heard the dog scream, the neighbour said: ‘It was awful and I was a state down the phone. It's horrible and I hear it all the time. It's disgusting.'
After the videos were released, a former friend of Mr Archer was so disgusted that she contacted him to ask him why he would hurt his dog like that.
Trying to justify his actions, he replied in a single message to her saying he only hurts his pet ‘if he's being a buttmunch'.
The owner also said the dog has a ‘good life compared to most dogs out there' and that he ‘eats like a king'.
However, the videos show the dog appearing well-behaved and following its owner's leads before being abused.
Responding to the now public footage there has been an outpouring of anger and upset in the area with people remarking that the dog looks ‘scared of him' and should have been seized already.
In the video, Mr Archer is seen walking his Staffordshire bull terrier-looking dog and randomly kicking it as it looks visibly afraid
After the videos were released, a former friend of Mr Archer was so disgusted that she contacted him to ask him why he would hurt his dog like that
The neighbour, having lived on her property for 13 years, says Mr Archer moved to the property just over a year ago with his father.
‘After the first RSPCA visit I got a lot of abuse through the floor and my dog hid in such a state,' she said.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: ‘We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.
‘Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss complaints about specific people and what action may have been taken. We understand how frustrating that is for animal lovers but releasing information could prejudice a future prosecution or could lead to us being fined.
‘We would urge anyone who is able to give an eye-witness account of the incidents described to contact our appeals line on 0300 123 8018 quoting reference 01395107.'
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: ‘Police were called to Timber Close, St Austell at around 11.40pm on Tuesday 1 October following reports of a male beating a dog. Officers attended the address and checked on the welfare of the dog which appeared fine.'
CornwallLive has contacted Lee Archer but received no response.
