Gardener Charged With Cruelty in Dragging Dog With Truck

A Hawthorne gardener is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of cruelty to animals for allegedly tying a dog to the bumper of his truck and dragging it for a mile.

Aisea Tuuholoaki, 36, was arrested by sheriff’s deputies near Carson after firefighters forced his truck to the side of the road.

The 1-year-old shepherd-mix dog was bloody and unconscious, but was revived by paramedics at the scene, said sheriff’s Detective Benjamin Venegas.

Witnesses said the dog was being pulled on a 20-foot rope while the truck drove slowly. Tuuholoaki had just received the dog from a homeowner where he had performed some work.

He told police he wanted to give the dog to his 7-year-old son and that he was planning to drive five miles with the dog leashed to the truck.

“For whatever reason, he didn’t want the animal in the truck,” Venegas said. “He said he had no intention of hurting the animal, but the dog was injured.”

Tuuholoaki is being held on $15,000 bond. Meanwhile, the dog is recovering at the Carson Animal Control Center. Workers there have named him Lucky.