Pet shop employee fired after streamer catches them throwing dog
An employee at a Los Angeles pet shop and rehoming center has been let go following an incident which saw a dog thrown onto a concrete floor during a livestream in the premises.
Twitch streamer RIPRoyce was playing with rescue dogs inside Bark n’ Bitches Dog Boutique in Los Angeles, California, while livestreaming to her viewers on the Amazon-owned platform on Wednesday, November 13.
During her visit, one of the dogs appeared to bite a smaller pup, prompting an employee at the store to pick the animal up and throw it. The impact of the dog on the floor made a loud noise but was not captured on camera, which RIPRoyce states was its head hitting the concrete.
Due to the nature of the footage, those who wish to watch the clip can do so on Twitch.
Following the incident, the dog hid under a bench and was tended to by RIPRoyce and others in attendance who tried to comfort it after the experience.
The clip sparked outrage on social media, with many criticizing the employee for treating the dog this way, with shop owner Shannon von Roemer publically addressing the incident in a video uploaded to Facebook.
“There was a horrific incident, intolerable incident, which happened at the shop tonight,” she stated. “Thanks to everybody who has reached out with their concerns, because it’s definitely a big concern of mine also. This is a first, rest assured that all actions will be taken to make sure this doesn’t happen again, the employee is no longer with us, and the dog is doing fine and went to the vet.”
In an Instagram post, von Roemer also stated that they would “not tolerate this or any actions that put our rescues in harms way,” and that the kind of behavior shown on the stream is not what they stand for.
The company confirmed that following the incident, the dog was taken to the vet, where it was cleared after examination.