Dog groomer charged with animal cruelty after allegedly punching and hanging dog that died

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a dog groomer faces animal cruelty charges after allegedly punching and killing a dog at a local pet grooming store earlier this month.

According to the Tulsa Police Department, Diego Jaimes Angel, 41, had been grooming a four-year-old Goldendoodle named Atlas on September 1 at Doggy Doodles Grooming and reportedly punched and strangled the dog. Another employee at the grooming shop reported the alleged abuse and subsequent death of Atlas. That person told Tulsa Animal Welfare officers she saw the suspect continually punching Atlas for several minutes.

One of the business owners and Angel told investigators that the dog had been having a seizure while being groomed, and he stopped breathing. The groomer and the owner said they tried to perform CPR and then rushed Atlas to an animal hospital across the street.

The actions of Angel were caught on surveillance video and shows the groomer punching the dog several times and strangling the dog because the dog had defecated on the table.

Angel has been charged with felony animal cruelty and released on $4,000 bond Monday morning.

The City of Tulsa released the following statement in part:

On September 1, Tulsa Animal Welfare received a report from a citizen stating that a dog was killed at a local grooming establishment.

Tulsa Animal Welfare responded to the location and began an investigation into the death of a 4-year-old goldendoodle who died while being groomed. Tulsa Animal Welfare was able to take possession of the deceased dog and transport the body to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostics laboratory in Stillwater for Necropsy.

The investigation uncovered evidence related to the incident which showed mistreatment of the dog….

City of Tulsa

The incident remains an active investigation.

Rest in Peace Atlas.

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