Dogs are known as "man's best friend" for a reason. They are loyal and sweet by nature, and it absolutely breaks your heart when you see any case of animal abuse towards a dog or puppy.

Unfortunately, a Hamburg man has been charged with a pretty heinous cruelty to animals crime.

WIVB is reporting that a Hamburg man, 28-year-old Kyle Ribarich, was charged aggravated cruelty to animals after the Erie County District Attorney’s Office says Ribarich intentionally hurt a four-month-old Rottweiler puppy.

He's accused of throwing the puppy to the ground multiple times and also hitting the dog with his hand, both closed fist and open hand.

He could face up to two years in prison if he's convicted of the charge.

These animal abuse cases absolutely break my heart. I've been a dog owner almost my whole life and we adopted a pittbull-beagle mix in 2018 from the SPCA Serving Erie County. It's the best decision my fiancee and I ever made.

It baffles my mind how a dog could be a victim to abuse such as this. Hopefully, that puppy will be okay; although the puppy was treated for a broken leg because of the abuse. An order of protection was ordered for the dog's owner.

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Does your loyal pup's breed make the list? Read on to see if you'll be bragging to the neighbors about your dog's intellectual prowess the next time you take your fur baby out for a walk. Don't worry: Even if your dog's breed doesn't land on the list, that doesn't mean he's not a good boy--some traits simply can't be measured.

Gallery Credit: Sabienna Bowman

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