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A retired soccer player was arrested on animal abuse charges after allegedly dangling his pet pug by a hind leg from his apartment balcony — as a neighbor captured the disturbing scene on video.
The frightening footage shows Héctor Rosales, 64, holding the dog by its right hind leg outside his fifth floor condo in San Salvador, El Salvador on Wednesday.
The pug can be heard crying as Rosales appears to take a photo of the animal before pulling it back over the rail and inside the apartment.
“Why is he doing that,” a male neighbor is heard saying in the background. “And he was recording. How weird.”
San Salvador Mayor Mario Durán said in an X post that his office was alerted of the incident shortly after Rosales was filmed.
His staff accompanied a National Civil Police unit to Rosales’ apartment, where they rescued two dogs.
“It is now safe and will receive the care it needs,” Durán wrote. “Thank you for reporting this. We will not tolerate animal abuse in San Salvador Centro.”
Rosales, who played C.D. Águila in El Salvador’s Primera División in the 1990s and now works as a dentist, faces two to four years in prison if convicted.
Animal lovers called for authorities to ensure he is never reunited with the dogs.
“They should never let him have any kind of animal,” one X user wrote. “He doesn’t deserve the affection of any pet!”
“I felt so sorry for that little dog. I have two of my own …” another commented. “My Cris and Maiker might not have any luxuries, but they know that here, they will have an abundance of love and respect.”