Redwood City police officers arrested a man on Thursday for allegedly abusing his girlfriend's four-month old terrier puppy, eventually killing the dog. The girlfriend's daughter witnessed the abuse, which added a charge of willful cruelty to a child.

According to Lt. Sean Hart of the Redwood Police Dept., on Thursday morning, an officer responded to a call from an apartment in the 300 block of Redwood Avenue to investigate a report of animal cruelty. The officer learned the suspect, Alan Velete, 31, of Redwood City, had been staying at the apartment during the past month with his girlfriend, their 4-year-old daughter, and his girlfriend's mother.

The reporting party said Velete had been physically abusing the family's 4-month old-terrier mix puppy. The investigation revealed the suspect had severely abused the dog over the past month and killed the dog on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Police say he disposed of the dog's body in a trash Dumpster.