Drunken Man Bites Shih Tzu in Face, Rips its Eye Out: Deputies

A Lake Worth man who had reportedly been drinking is charged with biting his mother's Shih Tzu in the face, ripping the dog's eye out of its socket.

According to the Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies responded an animal hospital in Lake Worth at about 4:30 a.m. Friday about a complaint of animal cruelty.

When deputies arrived, they found the Shih Tzu, named Cujo, with his eye hanging out of the socket.

Deputies said the dog's owner told them her son, David Etzel, 36, had been drinking and started teasing the dog.

According to the arrest report, the dog bit Etzel in the face after he picked the animal up by his throat. Etzel then bit the dog back, according to the report.

Etzel's mother could see that the dog's eye was hanging out of its socket, accordong to the report.

The woman's other son helped her take the 2-year-old, 9- to 11-pound dog to the animal hospital.

The veterinarian told deputies that she sees this type of trauma when a dog has been hit by a car or attacked by another dog.

According to the report, she said the attack must have been very violent to cause such serious injuries.

Deputies found Etzel asleep back at his home in Lake Worth. He told deputies Cujo bit him, but he would never hurt the dog, according to the report.

Etzel is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on $10,000 bail. He is charged with animal cruelty.

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