Dog groomer under fire after video of alleged abuse
VENICE, Fla. - An investigation has been launched into a Florida woman who appears to be abusing a dog at a pet grooming shop in a video that's been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook.
Briana Brady captured the video as an employee at "Happy Puppy Pet Spa" in Venice. "The dog was picked up by the throat, choked, shaked, and then his head slammed on the table," Brady told WFTX.
The owner of the grooming shop, Phyliss Luca, says she's been grooming this dog for nearly six years and what she did was necessary for the dog's health. "What the dog did was pass out and she faints and what I did was hold her head and shake her. That's all," she told WFTX. "If you see the video, I know it looks bad, but that's not what I'm doing," she said.
Brady, though, believes the dog was abused and points to other cases, like a toy poodle named "Pumpkin" that was left with a broken jaw and bruises on his stomach.
Brady quit her job at the grooming shop after the video was taken and the Sarasota Sheriff's Office is investigating.
Brady says she has received threatening phone calls from Luca since coming forward, and she and the owner of Pumpkin plan on pressing charges against Luca.