Early in the morning on February 23, a man is seen dragging a crate across a pavement.

He gets the crate, covered by a sheet, to the other side of a church parking lot in Albany.

At one point, the man walks away and the crate is on fire.

Albany police have identified the man as 34-year-old Christopher Maxwell from the Bronx. Maxwell is now facing animal cruelty charged for allegedly setting a pit bull puppy on fire.

The entire incident was caught on Ring doorbell camera at Elijah Missionary Church on Fourth Street.

Bishop Avery Comithier got a visit from the police the day of the crime.

“My doorbell rang and it was an officer who asked me ‘did I hear anything or see anything?’ I said no. He says, ‘well I see you have the camera.’ I said ‘sure .. .let me look through it.”

Bishop Comithier then saw what was left.

“It was just astonishing when I went outside and I saw the cage. That’s an image you just don’t forget.”

Albany Police later learned Maxwell left the 1-year-old pit bull inside the crate for days without food or water.

Later on, he took the puppy to the church parking lot and poured lighter fluid over the crate.

“Whether it’s a human or a pet. It’s still life and my job is to make sure life is saved or respected,” Bishop Comithier said. “That puppy didn’t deserve that.”

Maxwell is scheduled to be at Albany Criminal City Court on March 21.