Dog Being Dragged On Leash By Man Inside Car Caught On Tape

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A video of a dog seen running alongside a car with a leash around his neck is causing outrage.

It happened last week in the LaBagh Woods Forest Preserve on Chicago's Northwest Side. Someone who was in the park saw a German Shepherd being dragged and immediately stepped in.

Out of breath and frantic, the woman who recorded the video on her cell phone confronted the man who was driving. The dog's leash stretched out of the window as the driver sat comfortably.

From a distance the car can be seen moving as the dog drags behind struggling to keep up.

The video made its way to Facebook and has been viewed more than 31,000 times.

Certified animal behavior consultant Steve Dale watched it, too.

"It's difficult to discern why anyone could possibly think that walking a dog or dragging a dog, which is more like what it was, by the leash could be acceptable," Dale said. "It looked like the dog was limping to me. The dog can choke to death because of the chain around its neck. It's horrific. And the dog can suffer, and perhaps did, lifelong damage."

The man eventually gets out and puts the dog in the car as the forest preserve police are called.

"I am no lawyer, but this seems to be animal cruelty," Dale said. "In fact, it really appears to be animal cruelty, so yes, it is ethically wrong. I can't comprehend why anyone would drag a dog along the roadside. Aside from the ethical issue I have, it is, for good reason, against the law."

Cook County Nature Preserve Police say they are aware of this incident, and the driver could face criminal animal cruelty charges or county ordinance violations.

The investigation is ongoing.