A petition is garnering over 17,000 signatures after a disturbing case of animal abuse was caught on camera.

Residents and activists took to the streets on Thursday night, rallying against the abuser and the owner of the animals. Their plea to the Bronx district attorney is to make sure that those dogs seen being abused in the video aren’t returned to their owner. 

The videos circulating online shows a man aggressively beating a small dog inside a Netherland Avenue apartment building.  

One video shows an incident on March 23, where Trinton Hatton is seen on camera dragging what people are calling his boyfriend’s dog across the hall before kicking the dog several times and throwing him into the elevator. 

A second video shows Hatton hits the dog repeatedly before punting the dog out of the elevator and across the floor.  

Hatton was arrested on April 7, and three days later all three dogs were taken by police to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They say the dogs have both physical and behavioral trauma – but the owner, Nashon Brown, wants his dogs back.  

A court hearing is scheduled for April 27, which will ultimately decide if the dogs will be returned to the owner or remain in the care of ASPCA.