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A horrifying video was recently posted on social media showing a Colton, California, animal services officer (ASO) dragging a small, injured dog with a choke pole around his neck across concrete as he clearly experiences a great deal of distress, urinates involuntarily, gasps for air, and seizes or convulses.
Miraculously, the dog survived. He was admitted to a county animal shelter, where he was examined by veterinarians and found to be suffering from severe neglect, had to be shaved because of the extreme and painful matting of his coat, and was found to be unable to “bear weight on [his] left rear leg and [have] other health concerns,” according to a social media post by the facility.
This dog should have found comfort in the caring arms of an ASO but was instead treated like a contaminated bag of trash that this officer obviously didn’t want to touch. During the disturbing video, the ASO can be heard telling a distraught bystander that the suffering animal was “still alive” but was “just stressed out” and agreeing that he may have been hit by a car. Her utter lack of empathy and compassion was so extreme that she even refused to accept an offer from a bystander to provide a towel and carry the obviously incapacitated dog in order to avoid further harm to him.
There is never an excuse for dragging an animal by a noose tightened around their sensitive neck and throat, but it’s especially egregious when the person an animal depends on for safe haven betrays them as this officer did.
Although the officer was reportedly reassigned to a position that doesn’t involve any contact with animals shortly after this action alert was posted, there is no indication that this reassignment is anything but temporary. City officials have thus far failed to give the public any assurance that the reassignment is permanent. Please urge Colton officials to reassign this ASO permanently to a position that doesn’t involve any contact with animals.
After you take action below, please contact the city on Facebook and Instagram.
City of Colton’s Facebook Page
City of Colton’s Instagram