A 33-year-old dog walker in Medford, Massachusetts, is facing animal cruelty charges for hitting a dog in his care multiple times.
Passers-by filmed the suspect, Frederick Ingrando, losing his cool and mistreating a Golden Retriever named Tokyo. Reports say Ingrando — who offered his services through the Rover App — was walking four more dogs in addition to Tokyo at the time of the incident.
Medford dog walker faces animal cruelty charges for beating dog
On Sunday, Mar. 24, at around 11 a.m., as per Boston.com News reporting, Medford police officers responded to reports of Ingrando punching the Golden Retriever in public.
Although Ingrando had already left the scene when police arrived, NBC Boston News reports that bystanders who had taken a video of the incident presented the visual evidence to authorities. Fortunately, officers managed to trace Ingrando and apprehended him on animal cruelty charges. At the time of his arrest, he had boarded the five dogs in a single room.
In a statement, Medford Police shared: “According to witnesses, the man struck one of the dogs multiple times in the head and then lifted the dog off the ground by its collar in a harmful manner.”
Consequently, authorities seized all of the canines from Ingrando’s care and transported them to a local kennel. While at the kennel awaiting pick-up by their owners, the dogs underwent evaluation by a veterinarian. Thankfully, none had any physical injuries. However, Ingrando’s despicable actions took an emotional toll on the dogs.
During his arraignment, the Medford resident pleaded not guilty and was later released on his own recognizance. As he left the courthouse, Ingrando defended himself to reporters, claiming the accusations levelled against him were “exaggerated.” He further emphasized his “love” for dogs and insisted the accusations were simply “false reports,” despite the video evidence.
Rover has since suspended Ingrando’s account. He will be back in court on April 30.
