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Miami-Dade police announces the arrest of a dog groomer caught kicking a small dog in a viral video on Wednesday, August 21.
The dog groomer has since been fired after the video, recorded on on August 12, went viral. The man, identified as 33-year-old Richel Yumar Gonzales, can be seen kicking the small Maltese/Shih Tzu mix dog in the back of the neck in the video.
The dog can then be seen running away from the man, who was seen wearing a Deluxe Mobile Pet Grooming t-shirt, before being kicked again, this time in the head.
The clip was originally uploaded by ONLY in DADE on Instagram. And they revealed that the clip was sent by several of their followers and was recorded on a home security camera.
ONLY in Dade wrote, “Deluxe Mobile Pet Grooming, the grooming company involved, condemned the behavior and stated their zero tolerance for animal abuse, confirming that the dog is unharmed.”
A representative for the dog grooming business told 7News, “This horrible thing this is unacceptable. We have been open since 2016. We are zero tolerance for animal abuse. He was fired immediately [and] Animal Control has an open investigation.”
On August 21, Miami-Dade police reveals that Gonzales has been arrested for the criminal charge of animal cruelty.
“With the help of the business owner, the subject turned himself in to detectives.” The police department reveals in a comment.
The police department wrote, “Through investigative means detectives located the owner of the mobile pet grooming company who advised that he immediately terminated the employee depicted in the video, and that he would fully cooperate with the investigation.”
After the video went viral, neighbors that live in the complex where the incident happened were said to be in disbelief.
One anonymous resident told 7News, “All of us were outraged. It’s heartbreaking to see something like that. My understanding is that perhaps he was grooming the dog and trying to return the dog to the owner.”
Another resident who also wanted to remain anonymous said, “Nobody should be treating animals this way, especially not somebody that we trust to groom our pets.”
Thankfully, the dog was checked out by a vet and did not sustain any injuries and is doing okay.
