A Saugus man wanted for deserting the U.S. Army was arraigned today for allegedly dragging a puppy down a Revere street, leaving its little paws so raw that one of them was bleeding, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ROBERT H. DAMBRA, Jr. (D.O.B. 2/5/81), a private first class on active duty, was arraigned in Chelsea District Court today on an animal cruelty charge for allegedly dragging the small dog by its leash yesterday evening. After speaking with the U.S. Army Deserter Information Point in Fort Knox, Kentucky, to confirm that he was wanted for desertion, Assistant District Attorney Nick Brandt recommended that Dambra be held without bail.

Chelsea District Court Judge Benjamin Barnes set bail at $450.

Brandt told the court that Revere Police were called to the area of Mountain Avenue and Madison Street just before 7:00 p.m. for a report that a man was dragging a small dog along the street. On arrival, they found Dambra carrying the dog, which was bleeding from its right front paw and had injuries to its other paws. The officers saw the dog to be cold, wet, and shivering.

The officers also spoke to the civilian witness who had reported the incident to police. That witness, a 44-year-old Revere woman, told the officers that she’d seen Dambra dragging the dog for several hundred feet. She said she’d told Dambra that it looked like he was hurting the dog.

“Go [expletive] yourself,” he allegedly said in return.

The officers spoke with Dambra, who told them he was teaching the 8-week-old puppy to walk on a leash near his parents’ home. When he put the dog down, the officers saw the dog had trouble putting pressure on its paws.

The officers took Dambra into custody on the animal cruelty charge and seized his shirt, which had reddish-brown stains consistent with bloody paw prints on it. The puppy was later released to the custody of Dambra’s father, who claimed ownership of it.

Dambra is expected to return to court on June 29 with attorney Peter Martino.