Local Woman's Puppy Suffers Alleged Abuse At Dog Academy

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A dog was choked and covered in urine, and now a veterinarian says there is no doubt this is a case of animal abuse.

Regina Collins snapped photos of her puppy, Chance, just a few days ago, his eyes clearly bleeding.

"And so that's really consistent with strangulation, how that strangulation occurred you know I wasn't there, I can't tell," says Dr. Lee Kaplow, Chance's veterinarian.

But Chance's owner says she can.

Collins says she left her dog with Garrett Ridley for a few days, a man she hired and who promised to teach Chance some basic commands.

Instead, she claims the owner of Ridley K-9 Academy told her he needed to use force when her three-month-old puppy misbehaved.

CBS13 learned that sheriff's investigators turned the case over to animal services, and it's now in the hands of the district attorney's office.  The case was handed over on the same day animal services cited Ridley for not having the proper commercial animal license for his business, and just a few days after Collins reported the alleged abuse.

Ridley had no comment when CBS13 tried to contact him.

"He's just an angry man and he needs to be out of business," says Collins.

Chance is expected to make a full recovery.  The vet says there is a possibility Chance was left leashed up for hours and he injured himself, but the vet says that is also considered animal abuse.