Owner: Dog loses eye after being hit by garbage man

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.- A man says his two young children witnessed the moment a garbage truck driver attacked the family dog with a bat.

Last Wednesday, Clifford Green says his 9-year-old dog named Buddy was playing in the yard with his two children when Buddy began chasing a garbage truck that drove by.

“The guy stopped the truck, got out, came and attacked my dog with a bat,” Green said.

Green says his 10-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son witnessed the entire incident and the employee of Progressive Waste Solutions didn’t stick around to speak to the family.

“The guy just left my dog pretty much there… beaten,” Green said. “My 10-year-old, she’s constantly asked me, ‘what would make a person do that to our dog?'”

Now, Buddy is learning how to get around with just one eye after having to get the other one removed.

Green says both Progressive Waste Solutions and Lee County Domestic Animal Services (LCDAS) told him Buddy should have been on a leash.

“I’m more than welcome to accept that punishment for not having my dog on a leash, but I want something done about the animal abuse that happened to my dog,” Green explained.

Progressive Waste posted on their Facebook page that they’re taking the matter “very seriously” and an internal investigation is underway. An attorney for Progressive Waste said they cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but they are working with LCDAS.

Green still wonders why the truck driver was carrying around a bat.

“I still don’t understand why he would have a bat. Me personally, at work we’re provided with dog repellent,” Green said. “After I spoke with the supervisor, he said, you know, having a baseball bat was unacceptable.”

LCDAS is investigating the incident.