PEMBROKE, ON -- A Pembroke man who viciously attacked and bit a dog on a downtown street has been charged under the city's animal control bylaw.

Police apprehended a 22-year-old man under the Ontario Mental Health Act after a disturbing assault on a female Staffordshire terrier last month.

City police are not laying criminal charges, however, chief administrative officer Terry Lapierre confirmed Thursday the man, who has not been identified by authorities, will be charged with keeping a prohibited animal, failing to licence a prohibited animal and failing to inoculate the dog for rabies.

Early Sept. 26 witnesses called 911 to report a man wearing only boxer shorts repeatedly biting a dog's back and head. The bizarre scene attracted several onlookers, many of whom chased the man away from the injured animal.

The dog, along with two puppies, were taken into protective custody by animal control bylaw enforcement officer Michael Street, who later determined the assailant owned the animal. The puppies were unharmed.

"The man was co-operative during the investigation," Lapierre said.

The dog was nursed back to health and Street handed all the animals over to an Ottawa-based pit bull dog rescue group and they have since been successfully adopted out.

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is conducting its own investigation to determine if further charges will be laid.