Video: Burlingame Dog Sitter Caught Abusing Dog; PHS/SPCA on the Case

Animal care officials are looking for a dog that a dog sitter may have abused last month in Burlingame, according to the Peninsula Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The agency received a video July 30 that shows a dog-sitting and boarding business owner jerk a cowering dog by the neck, slam the dog to the ground and then slap it several times.

A neighbor caught the actions on a cellphone, according to the humane society, which posted the video on YouTube.

Humane society officials are looking for the dog because they fear it might have been injured.

The dog was described as possibly a Chihuahua-mix breed with long golden hair that is about 15 pounds and has a fluffy tail, somewhat pointed nose and short hair around the face.

The business owner is a woman in her 60s who has been operating the business at her home in Burlingame for at least 10 years, according to the humane society.

Humane society officials said they are not releasing the woman’s name because she has not been charged and her name is not public record. Her home is behind Burlingame High School, according to the humane society.

“We believe that the evidence presented in the video clip is enough for the district attorney’s office to bring animal abuse charges against this woman,” PHS/SPCA spokesman Scott Delucchi said in a statement. Humane society officials said anyone who believes the dog is theirs or knows other dogs possibly harmed by the sitter or who has had bad experiences with the sitter are being asked to immediately call the society at (650) 340-7022, ext. 384.

Humane society investigators seized 11 dogs from the sitter’s home five days after they received the video, fearing for the safety of the dogs.

The investigators returned the dogs to their owners and kept the sitter’s three dogs in protective custody, according to the humane society.

Two other video clips of possible dog abuse by the sitter surfaced in May, humane society officials said.

The sitter denied that she abused the dogs in the videos, but the videos do not support her assertions, according to the humane society.

--Bay City News Service, photo via PHS/SPCA