NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – North Myrtle Beach Police arrested a man they say beat a dog to death with a piece of lumber. Officers were called to a home off Seaside Drive on October 21 for animal cruelty. When they arrived, officers found a black Chihuahua lying on the back porch of the home, breathing but unable to move.
The police report says Bryan Lee Livengood, 51, of Ocean Isle, NC, told officers that the dog bit the back of his leg as he tried to walk into the home. He kicked the dog away and tried to walk around it to enter the home through the back entrance, but the dog continued to chase and nip at his legs. Livengood says that’s when he hit the dog once with a piece of lumber.
Witnesses told police a different story, according to the report. One witness told police that the small dog ran up to Livengood when he arrived at the home and Livengood kicked the dog away. The dog then ran back toward the man and bit him on the leg. Officers note within the report the Livengood had “two small holes on his left calf from the dog.”
The witness explained to police that after the dog bit Livengood, the man kicked and hit the dog again. Livengood then went to his car and retrieved a flashlight and piece of wood, the report states. Livengood ran the dog down on the back porch and “began beating it with the piece of wood.” Once Livengood was finished attacking the animal, he walked around the house bragging about killing the dog, the witness told police.
The dog was transported to a veterinarian in Myrtle Beach, but died prior to arriving at the office.
Livengood is charged with ill treatment of animals and was released from J Reuben Long Detention Center within three hours on a $7,500 bond.
