News

Video: Florida pet salon worker caught shaking, choking dog

WEIRD FLORIDA: More strange stories from around the Sunshine State 

A pet grooming business near Sarasota, Fla., is under investigation by the sheriff’s office after an employee released a video of alleged animal abuse.

Briana Brady, who works at Happy Puppy Pet Spa in Venice, posted a video to Facebook, which shows another employee putting her hands around a small dog's neck, shaking it, and then putting its head against the table.

The video has received more than 350,000 views on Facebook and more than 1,800 shares since its posting on Nov. 10.

Brady mentions in her post that this is not the first time the alleged animal abuse has happened by the employee, who she identifies as Phyliis Lucca.

“This is what this horrible woman does every day to every dog. She even broke a dog's jaw two weeks ago,” Brady wrote in her post. “She picked the dog up by the neck and shook it and slammed it on the table.”

Lucca said to WFTX that what she did was not animal abuse, but necessary steps taken for the dog's "overall health."

"If you see the video, I know it looks bad, but that’s not what I’m doing," Lucca said to WFTX. “What the dog did was pass out and she faints and what I did was hold her head and shake her. That’s all.”

A few weeks ago, the owner of  a toy poodle named Pumpkin said to WFTX that Lucca was responsible for breaking Pumpkin's jaw after he was released from the groomer's with blood all over his mouth and bruises on his stomach.

Brady and Pumkin’s owner said to WFTX that they plan to press charges against Lucca.