Burlingame Dog Sitter Charged with Animal Cruelty

A Burlingame dog sitter captured on film last month allegedly slamming a dog to the ground outside her home has been charged with animal cruelty, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe announced Wednesday.

Linda Levac is scheduled for arraignment Thursday morning on a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, Wagstaffe said.

The incident came to light when the Peninsula Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received a video on July 30 taken by Levac’s neighbor. The video showed Levac allegedly jerking a cowering dog by the neck, slamming it to the ground and slapping it several times.

The PHS/SPCA released the video to the media last week seeking more information about the case, including the whereabouts of the dog.

Over the weekend, the humane society posted on Facebook that the owners of the dog, a 6-year-old spaniel/Chihuahua mix named Frisco, brought the dog to the humane society, where veterinarians determined it had no lasting injuries related to the incident.

PHS/SPCA officials said Levac apparently does not have a business license and is not permitted to board pets in the zone where her Burlingame house is located, which is behind Burlingame High School.

Levac is out of custody on $10,000 bail and is set to appear in court for the arraignment Thursday, Wagstaffe said.

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