A Chicago dog walking service has shut down after a video of the business owner kicking a dog in an elevator went viral.
Alone At Home Pet Care owner Jon Stenholt was caught on a surveillance camera abusing a puppy named Chloe, one of the dogs in his care. He first stepped on Chloe’s paw and then, when the dog paced back and forth in the elevator, trying to stay out of harm’s way, Stenholt kicked her hard with his left foot.
Chloe’s owner Pam Capraro was stunned to learn that her dog had been abused while in Stenholt’s care and plans to file a police report:
“There were no indications that there was a problem or we would have stopped using them,” she said.
After the surveillance footage went viral, the Yelp page for Alone At Home Pet Care was flooded with one-star reviews. Some of the reviews came from Stenholt’s clients who had previously praised his services, like Yelp user West L.:
Up until this video, and as evident by my prior review, I was happy with Alone at Home and Jon. After having a previous bad incident with another dog walker, we used a dog cam. Jon displayed nothing by care and compassion for our dog while in our condo. He brought her treats for Christmas and a toy for her birthday.
However, there is no excuse for his actions in the video.
West L. had previously given Alone At Home Pet Care a five-star rating, but it has been updated to a one-star rating.
Stenholt sent out an e-mail to his clients Wednesday afternoon, informing them that he would be shutting down his business and is “ashamed of his actions”:
“I am a despicable individual who did a horrible thing to a defenseless animal. I deserve all that I am now receiving…effective immediately, Alone At Home Pet care is over.”
The original video is still available online, but if you decide to watch it, be forewarned that it is really distressing.
Source: CBS Chicago