Norman Hodder, shown in this family photo with his dog, Cuddles, was shocked to learn his pet had been killed by a young neighbour. (Courtesy Norman Hodder)

An eight-year-old boy in central Newfoundland has admitted to using a barbecue fork to beat a neighbour's dog to death, in an incident that the SPCA said is exceptionally disturbing.

The boy, a resident of Stoneville, admitted to killing the dog after his neighbours found their pet Pomeranian dead on the morning of June 4.

Pet owner Norman Hodder found the dog — which the family called Cuddles — lying on its side, with his barbecue fork found underneath.

In an interview Monday, he said the child has posed problems for him and others in the small, rural community before.

"If he's capable of doing that to a dog, I don't know, he could do it to a child," said Hodder. "There have been a lot of people who've had a problem with him [for] tearing up flowers, throwing rocks at the kids."

Hodder said he went to speak with the boy's father.

"I must say, he was reasonable," he told CBC News. "He said he felt bad over it ... but he said he couldn't do anything with him."

The incident has drawn a strong reaction from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which arranged to have the dog's remains exhumed for an examination after the truth emerged.

"One neighbour in particular realized what she had seen the night before was a young child, out with a red-handled instrument, she didn't know what it was, swinging it at the ground," Bonnie Harris, the SPCA's manager in Gander, told CBC News.

A barbecue fork, similar to this one, was used to kill a small dog in central Newfoundland. (CBC)

"She couldn't see the dog, but she could see the child with the instrument, just banging it on the ground, she thought."

The eight-year-old later admitted to killing the dog, and revealed that the red-handled instrument was a large barbecue fork.

Harris says it's the most disturbing case of animal cruelty she's ever seen.

"This is probably a 12-pound small dog who was tied on to a lead, that he couldn't get away. The dog, he just had to take it," she said.

"My only way of thinking is, 'My God, I hope this dog died quickly.'"

RCMP are working with Child Youth and Family Services to address the incident. Because of the child's age, no charges will be laid.

Hodder said the incident has left him feeling helpless.

"There's nothing going to come out of it. I don't know what they can do with him," he said. "It'd be nice to have a restraining order ... I don't want him on my property anymore."

Harris said the incident raises alarms.

"Not only for the safety of the animals around, but I would seriously be concerned about the safety of the whole community," she said.