A Hauppauge man is accused of suffocating a pit bull right in front of its owners.

Dominic Primerano says he was taking his pit bull Rex for a walk around his apartment complex in Hauppauge Sunday night when he says two unleashed dogs got into separate scuffles with his dog.

The owner of a Shih Tzu took his dog inside but Primerano says another dog, a Golden Doodle, attacked Rex.

He says he was bitten badly on the hands and face by the Golden Doodle as he tried to get it off his dog.

While Primerano was trying to break up the dog fight, he says his neighbor in the building next to him came out and grabbed his dog. He says the neighbor started suffocating Rex and holding his snout shut.

"I tried pulling the guy off my dog, but he was locked on to my dog and my dog just died right in front of me," Primerano said.

Police say they charged Huynh Toquoc with animal cruelty for killing the dog.

Toquoc was cited with an appearance ticket but Primerano and his girlfriend, Elana Greenfield, think there should be a harsher punishment.

Greenfield believes Rex was killed in part to a prejudice against pit bulls but that he was a kind dog.

"It's going to be hard to live here," Primerano says. "Everything reminds me of him."

News 12 tried speaking with Toquoc, but he declined to speak.