Mount Kisco dog groomer charged with animal cruelty

By MARTIN WILBUR

A former employee of a Mount Kisco dog grooming and boarding business faces an animal cruelty charge after video footage revealed that he violently slammed a dog onto a table earlier this summer.

Cole Kamrath of Peekskill was arrested by SPCA Westchester’s Humane Law Enforcement Unit and charged Sept, 3 in a July 26 incident at Dogtopia in Mount Kisco. Footage from one of Dogtopia’s multiple cameras showed Kamrath allegedly slamming the dog, a 14-pound rat terrier named Milo, onto the surface of a grooming table while he was getting his nails trimmed, said Ernest Lungaro, director of the Humane Law Enforcement Unit. 

Kamrath could then be seen putting the dog into a crate.

Lungaro said the family that owns the dog noticed Milo wasn’t walking properly, wasn’t eating and was sleeping excessively after he came home. They took the dog to a local veterinarian who discovered bruising on his torso, which appeared to be from recent trauma. The family then contacted SPCA Westchester, which launched an investigation.

“We determined that it was blunt trauma, a forceful incident,” Lungaro said. “Then it was consistent with what was on the video.”

Kamrath, who was fired by Dogptopia after the incident was brought to its attention, was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Mount Kisco Village Court on Sept. 24, where he will be arraigned, Lungaro said.

Dogtopia issued a statement following Kamrath’s arrest and immediately cooperated with the investigation.

“When our team identified disturbing conduct involving the former employee, we terminated the employee and immediately contacted local law enforcement. We’re fully cooperating with their ongoing investigation,” the statement read. “The safety and well-being of every dog in our care remains our highest priority. We take any incident seriously to provide the safest possible environment for all dogs entrusted to us.”

‘Horrific’

SPCA Westchester’s CEO Shannon Laukhuf called the incident a “horrific act of cruelty.”

“It is deeply disturbing that someone in a profession dedicated to caring for animals would so deliberately and viciously harm one,” Laukhuf said.

Lungaro said it is unusual for someone who works with animals to be abusive toward them.

“I think that most people that work there have a love of animals,” he said. “That wasn’t the case that was shown by his behavior, that’s for sure. But it is a rarity.”

Kindness and respect

Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said when someone entrusts the care of their pet to another party, they have a responsibility to treat that pet with kindness and respect.

“I am grateful to our partners at SPCA Westchester for their diligent investigation and working closely with my office’s animal cruelty coordinator, and I commend Dogtopia Daycare for taking swift action upon learning of the alleged abuse of sweet Milo,” Cacace said in a statement. “Our animals depend on us to protect them and speak for them, and there is never an excuse for subjecting an animal to this kind of cruelty.”