No contest plea in animal abuse case that left dog with swollen eye, broken tooth, bloody nose

A Bradenton man entered an open plea of no contest to a felony animal abuse charge for causing his then-girlfriend’s dog to suffer a broken tooth, bloody nose and swollen eye.

After his April 4 arrest, Anthony Kidd told a judge, “It was an accident. My kid was eating (expletive),” during his first appearance hearing.

Senior Circuit Judge Peter Dubensky responded that Kidd should have been keeping better watch over his child.

On Tuesday, Kidd entered an open plea of no contest to the one felony count of animal abuse for the injuries to the dog, named Prince. He will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Nov. 14.

Kidd has been banned from having any contact with animals since he first appeared before a judge. He’s been out on a $1,500 bond since April 6.

The dog has since recovered from its injuries, and has been returned to his owner.

Kidd’s arrest was among the first under a new collaborative effort by the Bradenton Police Department and other agencies to investigate animal cruelty cases.

Bradenton police were first alerted to the animal abuse when Kidd’s girlfriend took her dog to an emergency veterinarian for treatment, and the veterinarian concluded Prince’s injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma, such as being hit with force or kicked.

At first, Kidd denied the allegations when police visited his home the following day, but his girlfriend told them she had seen him spank Prince and put him outside. Despite not having seen any other physical contact, Kidd’s girlfriend said she heard Prince yelp that night unlike she ever had heard before.

Eventually at the police station, Kidd admitted he had seen his 18-month-old son eating the dog’s feces and got angry. Kidd said he then grabbed the dog by the back of its neck and threw him out the back door, but he denied hitting or kicking Prince.

Kidd’s criminal history includes arrests for charges of burglary to an occupied dwelling, petit theft, violation of supervised release and contempt of court.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "No contest plea in animal abuse case that left dog with swollen eye, broken tooth, bloody nose."