"He punched the dog:" Concern over man's actions on dog as witnessed in Currie Park

MILWAUKEE -- It was a shocking scene to many at the Currie Park dog park earlier this week. A man, seemingly just outside the park, doing something concerning.

When Nick Larson took his dog Nitro to the park, he saw something that he did not expect.

"He punched the dog in the head to the point where it would fall to the ground, get back up and be much more vicious," Larson said.

Larson called 911.

Larson started recording and his Facebook post of the man and dog got more than 140,000 views locally in the past day. There was also plenty of concern.

"He can totally do that in a back alley somewhere. But the fact he did it out in public, in front of other dogs, is telling me he's training these dogs to be violent against other dogs," Larson said.

Some thought the man in the video could have been training the dog to pull weight.

Dog trainer Todd Thurber says it's a sport he's worked with for years. But if that is the case, the man in the video is doing it completely wrong.

"It allows the pressure to be put on the chest of the dog and shoulder area. So it's not going to cause injury," Thurber said.

Nick Larson says there were three young pit bulls in the car -- and he feels sorry they may be abused.

By the time law enforcement got to Currie Park, the man, the car and the pit bulls were gone.

Larson says one man walked up and tried to talk to the guy punching his dog -- and the guy mumbled and took off in his car, a dark blue Buick LeSabre.

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