This is the horrifying moment staff at a dog daycare centre appear to kick and throw toys at pooches entrusted into their care.
Former employees of The Doggy Den in Sheffield, claim they secretly filmed the footage to lift the lid on the ‘horrific abuse’.
In one of the videos, at least 20 dogs fill a room with only two members of staff watching over them.
In more footage, the pets can be seen pacing a large, empty room, while a Dalmatian is heard whimpering and crying in a cage in the back of the building.
This is the horrifying moment staff at a dog daycare centre appear to kick pooches entrusted into their care
The videos, which only came to light yesterday, were allegedly captured between March and December last year by ex-workers who said they were previously too afraid to highlight the treatment of the animals for fear of losing their jobs.
Tom Greatorex, manager of The Doggy Den, said the videos showed ‘isolated incidents’.
Jess Hutcheson, 26, of Chesterfield, who worked at The Doggy Den for eight months in 2017, recorded some of the videos.
She said: ‘I took these videos in March last year and made my manager aware of them.
Former employees of The Doggy Den in Sheffield, claim they secretly filmed the footage to lift the lid on the ‘horrific abuse’
‘I wanted to highlight the abuse earlier but was too scared to do anything with them as I didn’t want to lose my job.
‘Some of the dogs would viciously attack other dogs, and I know one groomer was bitten by a dog that was in her care.
‘There were never enough staff members to look after the dogs. I walked out a few months after I filmed the footage because I couldn’t stand to work there anymore.’
Another former dog handler at the centre, who would not reveal their name, said: ‘I worked at The Doggy Den for 15 months and in that time I witnessed some horrific abuse of dogs.
‘There were too many dogs to staff members, the dogs would fight all the time; puppies were placed in the same room as adult dogs; the dogs were stressed out and frustrated.
In more footage, the pets can be seen pacing a large, empty room, while a Dalmatian is heard whimpering and crying in a cage in the back of the building
‘I left because I was bitten by one dog and couldn’t cope with the stress and pressure anymore.
‘There should only be around 30 dogs in the building at any one time, and there should be one staff member to every six dogs.
‘We used to have between 40 and 60 dogs there each day, and although there was a total of 14 staff, there was no more than four to supervise the dogs.’
Official animal boarding condition guidelines suggest the ratio of dogs to staff at any one time should not exceed six dogs per staff member.
The Doggy Den’s website states the centre provides a safe environment for animals with ‘plenty of trained staff on hand at all times’.
Mr Greatorex, who opened The Doggy Den in 2013, said: ‘These videos were taken from our CCTV over 18 months ago by staff who no longer work for the company’
Mr Greatorex, who opened The Doggy Den in 2013, said: ‘These videos were taken from our CCTV over 18 months ago by staff who no longer work for the company.
‘I can assure our customers and clients that they are isolated incidents and the staff members in question have now left the business.
‘I can 100 per cent say that this kind of abuse does not happen on our premises.
‘The staff I have working for me are trusted and I have experienced managers who love working at The Doggy Den.
‘I will be calling the council today and inviting them to come to inspect the premise, as we want to tell the truth about what we do here and not what has been portrayed in the videos.
‘I am also happy for the RSPCA to come down and inspect us if they wish.’
Sheffield City Council has been contacted for comment.