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Dog daycare employee fired after video shows him kneeing pet in face

"I trusted these people to look after Ava only to check the webcams and see this happening to her," the pet's owner said in a Facebook post.

BROOKHAVEN, Ga. -- A worker at a dog daycare was fired after being caught on camera repeatedly kneeing a dog in the face.

The pet's owner, Rachel Mundy, posted the video from the dog daycare's webcam on Facebook upset about what she saw.

"Anybody living in Atlanta who has a pet should never take them to Bark and Board in Brookhaven," the Facebook post said. "I trusted these people to look after Ava only to check the webcams and see this happening to her."

In the video, you see several dogs and a man standing over them in a blue shirt. You see him put his knee in one of the dogs face and the dog sits down. From another angle, you can clearly see him knee a dog in the face three times.

"Not the only time it happened either," the Facebook post said. "I have 20 other videos of him doing the same type of stuff to her. Absolutely unacceptable and disgusting."

11Alive talked to the owner of Bark and Board, Stuart Wingate, who didn't agree with the employee's actions.

"That is unacceptable behavior," Wingate said. "Our core values is that no disciple action, physical action should be taken against a dog."

11Alive FaceTimed animal advocate Jessica Rock about the laws in place to protect animals. Rock said many people may not know what they are.

"There is much-needed training around the state on how to prosecute with animal cruelty," she said.

Even though the company took swift action and fired the employee, that hasn't stopped other dog lovers from posting bad reviews online. However, the nearly decade-old company said it is taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"We're bringing in an outside behaviorist to work with us for other methods of working with the dogs," Wingate said.

Many comments under Mundy's post show that people are outraged by the former employee's actions.

"It's shocking," Wingate said. However, I understand the anger because I felt it myself."

They also posted a statement on Facebook addressing the issue

"We, Bark and Board, do not condone this behavior and are working to ensure this never happens again," the post said.

Bark and Board couldn't say how long the man was employed there. They referred his case to DeKalb Animal Control who will determine whether to send it to police.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture sent a response to 11Alive News late Friday regarding an inquiry about doggy daycare facilities:

"Boarding kennels and doggie day cares are required to hold a kennel license in Georgia. They are regulated under the Georgia Animal Protection Act. Any certified law enforcement agency has the authority to enforce this Act. The Georgia Department of Agriculture, Companion Animal/Equine division is the regulatory agency that licenses and inspects kennels under the Act. To check and see if a licensed establishment has had regulatory violations in the past a consumer can submit an open records request at: http://agr.georgia.gov/open-records.aspx.”

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