Video allegedly shows pet sitter abusing dog

Friday, August 21, 2015
BURLINGAME, Calif. -- A cellphone video has gotten a woman in trouble with the Humane Society. She is an dog boarder who could wind up in jail as investigators pursue a criminal case against her.

The Peninsula Humane Society will likely give the case to the district attorney of San Mateo County on Monday.

We are not naming the dog boarder under investigation because the Humane Society has not identified her publicly. Through the city, we learned she ran her business out of her home illegally, without the proper permits.

Warning this video is graphic.


In the video, you can see what apparently shows a woman grabbing a little dog by the neck and then throwing it to the ground. Then she appears to be punching the animal before taking the dog inside her home.



"The video is sickening. There's absolutely no reason why anyone would treat an animal like that," Scott Delucchi from the Peninsula Humane Society said.

No one answered when we knocked on the door of her Burlingame home; a home where she's reportedly been running a dog sitting and boarding business for the past decade.

"She runs a very nice business. She's had a very successful business," said Claire Rovegno, who lives next door. We showed her the video and it shocked her. "I don't know what caused her to do such a thing. As I say, I've never seen her do anything like that before. It's just disappointing to me."


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The woman's attorney said his client saves rescue dogs and would never hurt an animal. Attorney Robert Courshon says she was simply trying to stop the dog in the video from barking for the sake of neighbors.

"When the dog barked, she picked up the dog and set it down in its bed and told it, 'No. No. Stop barking,' and pushed it down into its bed."



The Humane Society says it's received multiple complaints from neighbors charging that the woman has been mistreating dogs. They've checked every complaint but never could find anything wrong at the home. People have even sent other videos including one where she appears to be stomping a dog.

"As she's stomping, a large breed dog runs away from the area where she had been stomping," Delucchi said.

It wasn't enough evidence to prosecute, but now with this latest video, they seized eight dogs in her care and put her own three dogs in protective custody.

Peninsula Humane Society investigator Christina Hanley said the alleged abuse was recorded by a neighbor using a cellphone camera.

Hanley said, "This dog knew what was coming."



When asked what the Peninsula Humane Society thought of the video, Hanley responded by saying, "We were horrified, absolutely horrified."

Investigators suspect abuse of other animals had been going on for the past 10 years.

"Every time we would go out, the dogs didn't have any injuries," Hanley said. "So we couldn't act on complaints."

That is until now. Last month, dogs in her care were removed by the Humane Society and returned to their owners.

"Anyone who is a client of hers will readily, immediately recognize her," Hanley said.



In the meantime, investigators need to locate the dog, believed to be a Chihuahua-Dachshund mix.

"We're hoping to identify the dog in this video so we can examine it for injuries," Hanley said.

Neighbor and dog owner Kristin Lorenz watched the video.

"Dogs are like kids and I have a child of my own, but that's just unacceptable," Lorenz said.

The woman's dog care business is closed. Investigators are asking anyone with information to call them.
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