Warning: Distressing graphic content
A dog walker was seen swinging a small dog around on its leash after a witness alleged they “threw” a dog from their ute at an Auckland park.
A video of the incident posted to Facebook shows a dog being swung into the air and dropping back onto the concrete at a carpark in Sanders Reserve last month.
SPCA is investigating after a complaint was made.
A witness, who is also a dog walker and dog daycare worker, told the Herald she saw the alleged incident unfold on January 20.
“We were looking around for a place to park, and we noticed like all the scared dogs,” the witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
She said she decided to start videoing after she saw the dog walker take a dog from his ute and throw it.
“That spaniel that you can see in the video, he took it out of the ute with his two hands and lifted it up in the air and threw it down to the ground,” the witness said.
When her video begins, he can be seen swinging a dog on its leash while it is surrounded by multiple other dogs.
The witness said she started following him to talk to him about what she saw, but he kept walking faster and ignored her.
“I can just imagine what he does when there’s no one around, like if it’s on private property, like what else can he do if he can do that in front of a public space?
“That’s what’s worrying me,” she said.
The witness said she was scared to take her dog for a walk in the area because she was concerned she would bump into him.
SPCA Inspectorate regional manager, Andre Williams, confirmed they had received a complaint, but said they were unable to comment further.
The Herald approached the dog walking company allegedly involved in the incident.
“We are aware of online commentary and a short video clip circulating on social media relating to an alleged incident during a dog walk,” the company said.
The dog walking company said that because the alleged incident involved anonymous social media claims and speculation, they will not be commenting further.
This incident comes after a graphic video of a man repeatedly abusing a dog during a walk in South Auckland was circulated on social media in May last year.
Chained Dog Awareness New Zealand (CDANZ) shared a supplied video of the incident, where the man was seen hitting, kicking and dragging a limping dog.
The man is later pictured violently swinging the dog into the air by its leash and slamming it onto the path.
At the time, rewards totalling $7000 were offered for information leading to the man’s identification.
CDANZ said the people in the video have still not been identified.
“A number of leads were given for quite some time, and all leads were fully investigated,” CDANZ said.
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