Video of man scaring his dog with fireworks leads to animal cruelty charge

ATLANTA -- An Atlanta man is facing animal cruelty charges after he set off fireworks near his dog.

According to WSB, cell phone video recorded by William Scaffidi's daughter shows him lighting fireworks on his porch right over his dog.

Neighbors began sharing the video on social media. It's been shared thousands of times and has sparked outrage.

Fulton County Animal Services charged Scaffidi with animal cruelty, but he defended himself saying he didn't realize the dog was there and that it was an accident.

"The thing is... is that it wasn't even a prank. It wasn't a prank. A lot of people say you put the plants there to trap the dog. That's ridiculous. I didn't even know the dog was there," Scaffidi told WSB.

Scaffidi says he did not intentionally try to torment Betty Boop, the 4-year-old Husky mix.

"I admit it was a bad choice of posting it and that's my mistake," he said. "I regret that I did it (lighting the fireworks)... for the fact that the dog was there."