A blind man in the UK had his guide dog taken away from him after he was caught punching it in the face "at least 10 times", according to a media report.
The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association took action against the 59-year-old from Blackburn, Lancashire after receiving a complaint from an eyewitness that the owner shouted abuse and punched the black Labrador near a public park.
The partially-sighted attacker told one of his dogs to fetch the tennis ball, which was being thrown by his wife, and he told the other dog to stay but instead they both went to fetch the ball.
The man, who was wearing sunglasses, started shouting abuse at the guide dog before hitting it in the face with his fist "at least 10 times" before dragging the dog into the back of his car, the 'Mirror' reported.
"It was absolutely horrendous. It would have to be horrendous to have to remove a guide dog from an owner. There were four or five people just standing there not knowing what to do. It was truly shocking," the witness said.
"I went over and explained to the man I would phone the police and RSPCA and he just put two fingers up at me. In hindsight I should have taken the dog and driven it to the police station myself or videoed him doing it and showing to the police as evidence," he said.
The incident was later reported to the police, RSPCA and Guide Dogs For The Blind Association, which trains and places guide dogs with clients.
"We take the health and welfare of our dogs extremely seriously and can confirm following a thorough investigation we have permanently removed a guide dog from Blackburn," said a spokesman for the guide dogs charity.
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