Footage shows dog dragged by its neck through animal shelter
The video went viral after it was posted on Facebook last week
Neela Debnath
Monday 23 February 2015
A dog owner has spoken about the shocking moment she saw a video of her pet getting dragged by its neck through an animal shelter.
Tracie Carpenter said it was “beyond frustrating” watching her dog Mia suffering as two other people watched on.
“The fact that there's three people in the video watching the dog being [dragged] by its neck all the way down the hallway — and nobody said anything — is beyond frustrating,” she told NBC Los Angeles.
Ms Carpenter only saw the footage after she was alerted to it by a friend.
The video was posted on a private Facebook group, Victor Valley Pets, on Thursday (19 February) and went viral after causing much anger online.
In the short 10-second clip the canine is pulled along the floor of the Hesperia Animal Shelter in California by an individual who is believed to be one of the employees of the rescue centre.
The dog can be distinctly heard whimpering as her lead is used to tug the animal through the corridor. Two other people can be seen in the video watching the incident.
According to the person who filmed the video, the people in the video are all staff members at the shelter.
“I took the video last week as I was leaving, I was looking for my lost dog. I don’t know their names, but know they work there. I just felt that this needed to go public,” they told Victor Valley News.
Mia, who is around six years old, went missing from the Carpenters’ home on the 12 February and was found by Hesperia Animal Shelter. She was eventually reunited with her owners not long after.
In a Facebook post on Friday, the Hesperia Animal Shelter posted, “Please know that this matter is being taken very seriously. As we have mentioned, we have standard procedures in place for the proper care of animals and those procedures were not demonstrated in this video.”
“Shelter animals, as well as members of the community, deserve better and we vow to do better. We are thankful for the outpouring of concern for the animals in the shelter and are committed to providing the best possible care to those in our custody.”
The city of Hesperia is now investigating the matter, while Hesperia’s Mayor Eric Schmidt has called a special city council meeting today to discuss the public’s concerns.
