'Did Not Rise To Level' Of Cruelty: SnoCo Auditor On Dog Beating

BOTHELL, WA - A video of a dog trainer hitting a dog with a plastic bat at a Bothell training school has caused outrage - but the school denies that it uses abusive techniques, and a Snohomish County animal services inspection cleared the school of wrongdoing.

The Academy of Canine Behavior issued an apology on Tuesday saying that the people seen in the video have either been fired or reassigned.

"The Academy of Canine Behavior’s owners do not condone the treatment of animals in our care as shown in a two-year old video recently released by a disgruntled former employee," the press release stated.

In its own press release released Tuesday, the Snohomish County Auditor's office said that animal services visited the school on June 27. An officer inspected kennels and talked to the woman seen in the video striking the dog. The inspection did not turn up any violations.

The county said that the bat seen in the video above was modified in a way that apparently did not harm the dog.

"The trainer who was seen in the video striking the dog was interviewed as were other staff members and manager. It was reported that the Academy of Canine Behavior was asked to work with the dog after it had exhibited strong signs of aggression. The investigation concluded the behavior of the trainer towards the dog did not rise to the level of cruelty to animals as defined by statute," the county's press release said.

But some refute the school's claims. A former employee who spoke to Patch on the condition of anonymity sent photos of what appeared to be dogs sitting in kennels full of feces. She said she complained about conditions there, and was eventually let go.

"All of my complaints were brushed off or disregarded," the former employee told Patch. "It's beyond bothering that I've turned in all my evidence to animal control and nothing came out of everything I sent it."

Additionally, two Patch readers shared their own experiences at the Academy of Canine Behavior.

"I believe we signed [our dog] up for a 3 or maybe 4 week course," a Bellevue woman said of her experience. "We came to visit him at the two week mark and sat in that very room in the video. When they brought him in he was cowering from the person. They wouldn’t let us pet him. He had lost a lot of weight. We knew knew they were abusing him but had no proof. We took him home that day. We were actually just talking about this place last night.

Patch has contacted Snohomish County and the Academy of Canine Behavior directly to ask about the video. Neither have responded except through press releases.

Image via YouTube.com