A disturbing photo of a dog dangling on a leash from a second-story balcony in Greenville, S.C., went viral and resulted in a citation for the man who put the dog there.

A woman noticed the dog hanging out the window and a snapped photo, which was posted on Facebook over the weekend. Police were soon "inundated" with the images through Facebook and Twitter, while other people called in to report the photo, Greenville Police Officer Johnathan Bragg told ABCNews.com today.

The police department sent animal control to the apartment complex on Sunday and officers spoke to Tyler Smith, 23, on Monday and he was cited with violating the city ordinance on animal care.

When asked why Smith hung the dog out the window, Bragg said, "Saturday it was raining really hard during that time period and we believe he was doing it to let it use the bathroom."

The dog belongs to Smith's parents, who were out of town, Bragg said. The dog was not injured.

Smith could not be reached for comment.

(Credit: Greenville County Animal Care Services/Facebook)