A suspect has been charged in connection to the death of a dog named Diesel that was stabbed with what appeared to be a broken broom handle as the dog's owner watched in horror.

York Regional Police said officers were called to a Richmond Hill home on Friday evening after a woman reported her dog being stabbed by a man with a stick.

Detectives say the woman was walking her six-year-old Shetland sheepdog, which is commonly known a sheltie, when she stopped to speak with a friend.

The woman's daughter, Harmony, said that was when the attack occurred.

"My mom was standing by the tree over there, she was talking to some neighbours and, basically, some guy came up with some kind of wooden dowel with a spike, about a four- to five-inch spike, and stabbed my dog in the jaw," said Harmony, speaking to media outside the family home.

Her mother tried to get Diesel some water from a nearby garden hose, but the he fell over and died, Harmony said.

"He was yelling at my mom, about why did she even have the dog outside, or something, and he kept yelling at her, even after he had already stabbed my dog," she said.

The attack has left neighbours asking how something so terrible could happen in what is usually a dog-friendly community.

"He was yelling because Diesel was barking. Diesel was a barker, but he was never aggressive to anybody," said a neighbour who said he witnessed the event.

The dog owner was stunned, said the witness.

"She was crying, everybody was in tears, this is a dog community," he said.

Another neighbour, who said she is a friend of the family, called the attack "disgusting."

"What kind of a human being goes up to a sweet, really fun, really amazing dog who is scared of his own shadow, to go and actually go up to him and intentionally hurt him is disgusting," the neighbour said.

York Regional Police said a 68-year-old Richmond Hill man had been charged with one count of injuring or endangering animals.

The suspect was charged over the weekend and released from custody on a promise to appear in court on May 25.

Area residents said the accused lives in a basement suite in the neighbourhood.

Diesel's owner said she did not know the man who has been charged.

With files from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney