A man in Medford, Oregon has been arrested and is facing animal cruelty charges after witnesses caught him hitting a dog he was walking.
Medford Police revealed that the dog walker was walking a group of dogs around 11:00 AM in the area of Fellsway West and Sheridan Ave. when they were called.
The police said in a statement, “According to witnesses, the man struck one of the dogs multiple times in the head and then lifted the dog off the ground by its collar in a harmful manner.”
The police also shares that one witness even provided video evidence, which helped them identify the suspect immediately.
CBS News reports that the dog walker, Frederick Ingrando, 33, was arrested on Sunday, March 24, shortly after the incident.
According to the prosecutor, Ingrando started hitting the dog, a Golden Retriever, and yelled, “Do not give me attitude!”
Curt Ford, an eye witness who lives across the street, told CBS News, “What I saw was him holding the dog, whether it’s by the neck or by the collar, and then using his leg to trip the dog in almost like a wrestling move to take him to the ground.”
The videos of Ingrando mistreating the dog were also shared by a dog training company, Ohmydog, on Facebook.
Katie Bates, owner and CEO of Ohmydog, wrote on Facebook, “This is vile disgusting behavior… This is disgusting.”
In their statement, Medford Police shared that the dogs that were under Ingrando’s care as a dog-walker have been “safely removed” and were picked up by their owners.
Furthermore, the police wrote, “A dog that was struck during the incident was transported to a nearby veterinarian for evaluation and was later released.”
Ingrando was hired by several pet owners through the Rover app. And CBS News reveals that Rover has since removed the suspect’s account from their app.
A Rover spokesperson said in a statement, “We we’re shocked and disturbed to learn of this abhorrent behavior. There is zero tolerance for this type of treatment of pets in our community.”
At his arraignment on Monday in Somerville District Court, Ingrando was ordered to stay away from the dogs and their owner.
Furthermore, he pleaded not guilty and was released on a promise to return to court again for a pre-trial hearing on April 30.
