The Animal and Veterinary Service said today it was looking into the circumstances of a woman caught on tape kicking a dog during a walk in the park.
The animal welfare agency confirmed to Coconuts today that it is investigating days after a 30-second clip appeared online. It showed a woman, apparently a trainer, deliver two swift kicks to the hind quarters of a corgi to keep it in line with the pack of 10 dogs she is walking.
“We are aware of the video showing a woman kicking a dog while walking a group of dogs in a park, and are looking into the case,” Jessica Kwok, group director of the NParks’ Animal and Veterinary Service, told Coconuts today.
The woman’s face does not appear in the video, which seemed to be filmed by an associate. The agency said it had seen the video but would not confirm whether it had any information about where or when it occurred.
Kicking has no place in training a dog to walk, the founder of MydogsAdventures told Coconuts this afternoon.
“Definitely not,” said Darren Yew, who takes packs of dogs out every day. “There are many techniques to train a dog. Usually, we will have an assessment first if the dog is unable to walk well before walking with a bigger pack.”
Dog “trainer” in Singapore kicking a poor doggo to get it in line. 😡 from r/singapore
The video was posted in a now-locked Reddit thread titled Dog “trainer” in Singapore kicking a poor doggo to get it in line by user Jokeemonkeee.
Furious Redditors took to the comments to curse the woman while several others pleaded to “name and shame” her. That led to her being doxxed in comments since removed by moderators.
“[W]hat the fuck, what if they caused internal injuries in the dog or cracked a rib? that was such a hard kick,” Thewickedverkaiking wrote.
“Poor baby! I send my Pom to dog school and I would literally be so mad if he got kicked like this on a walk he’s supposed to have fun on!” Bernaiih25 said.
Other stories you should check out:
Dog Fight: Furious pom owner goes to war over ‘botak’ makeover
‘On the brink of collapse’: Not enough rescuers for all of Singapore’s abandoned pets
