Man Purposely Tied Pregnant Dog To Pole And SUV And Drove Off, DA Alleges

ANAHEIM, CA — A 58-year-old man killed a pregnant dog by wrapping a rope around its neck and tying the ends to his SUV and a pole and hitting the gas to snap the animal's neck in an Orange County alleyway, county prosecutors said Wednesday.

Eric Lyn Holliday, of Buena Park, was charged with felony counts of cruelty to animals and possession of a hard drug with two or more prior convictions as well as a misdemeanor count of possessing a controlled substance, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.

Prosecutors allege video footage captured the 58-year-old man driving into an Anaheim alleyway in the 600 block of South Brookhurst Street at about 7:35 a.m. Monday. There, he tied one end of a rope around a parking pole and the other end to the two hitch of his Ford Expedition, Spitzer said. Holliday then fastened the center of the rope around his dog's neck, got back into the SUV and hit the gas to snap the neck of the small Maltese dog, according to prosecutors.

He then got out of the SUV "to look at the dog" before climbing back into his vehicle and driving away, leaving the dead dog in the alleyway.

According to Spitzer, the dog — believed to be 6-years-old and pregnant — had suffered a severed spine and arteries from the trauma.

Hours later, the dog's carcass was found by the manager of a nearby business and police were notified. Holliday was soon after arrested with several baggies of methamphetamine in his possession when police apprehended him, according to authorities.

"This was not an act of rage. This was a clear plan to kill a defenseless animal, and when he executed his plan, he drove off, leaving the animal's body in the alley for someone else to discover the horror of what he had done," Spitzer said in a statement. "Violence against animals will never be tolerated, and every act of animal abuse will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

According to Spitzer, Holliday pleaded guilty in October to attacking a co-worker with a metal pipe.

He entered his guilty plea on Oct. 15 to vandalism and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and was sentenced to 126 days in jail, or time served, according to court records.

He was placed on two years of formal probation and ordered to enroll in a substance abuse program.

City News Service contributed to this report.