Man seen on video shooting dog in Pasco neighborhood confesses after arrest, sheriff says

HOLIDAY, Fla. - Pasco County deputies say they have made an arrest after surveillance cameras captured a driver shooting a dog in broad daylight in a Holiday neighborhood.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office arrested 59-year-old Darren Salinger around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 8 hours after the shooting happened around 11 a.m. 

That's when three dogs were running around the neighborhood in the area of Society Drive and Truman Drive in Holiday.

Ring security camera from the front of a home showed a driver in a white pickup truck pull up to the dogs, who were in the front yard of the home.

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The sheriff's office said the video showed Salinger pointing a gun and firing two shots that struck one of the dogs in the head. The injured dog briefly fell to the ground before getting back up and running away, yelping in pain.

(Pasco County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators located the dog and its owner, and said the dog was taken to a veterinarian to be treated for its injuries.

Deputies said the owner of the home was inside at the time of the shooting, and was within 1,000 feet of Salinger when he fired his gun.

"By shooting the dog, the defendant did intentionally commit an act to a dog which resulted in excessive and inflection of unnecessary pain or suffering," deputies wrote in the arrest affidavit.

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When investigators interviewed Salinger Wednesday evening, they said he admitted to firing two shots at the dog from his pickup truck.

Salinger was arrested and taken to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center. He is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a residence – both of which are felonies. He is being held on $15,000 bond.