Two Louisiana women were arrested by the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Department and charged with abusing animals after a violent dog training video surfaced on the internet.
Tina Frey, 52, and her daughter, Victoria Brimer, 21, were each charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
Earlier this month, videos hit the internet showing Frey using a riding crop to hit a Cane Corso dog on the head at their Cypress Arrow Kennel & K9 Academy. The sheriff’s department said they received complaints about the videos and launched an investigation.
Based on the investigation, authorities were able to “establish sufficient probable cause that supported the original complaint.”
Warrants were issued for the mother-daughter dog training duo. Frey and Brimer turned themselves into the Rapides Parish Courthouse and were released on a $10,000 bond.
“I want to thank the public for bearing with us while we conducted a complete and thorough investigation into these allegations,” Sheriff Mark Wood said in a statement on the department’s Facebook. “I would also like to commend our Animal Control Section and our detectives in their investigation of this incident and to staying the course, following the evidence where it leads, and not bending to pressure of a quick arrest.”
The investigation into Frey and Brimer is still ongoing, and more charges are possible.
An attorney for Frey denied any wrongdoing.
“I want to unequivocally state that Tina Frey has never hurt or injured a dog in her care. She is a respected dog trainer and is qualified to train other trainers,” Frey’s attorney Brad Drell said in a statement to People.
Drell said his client is an “expert” in handling Cane Corsos and that the large dogs “have the potential to be very dangerous” if they are not appropriately trained.
The video, which can be uncomfortable to watch, shows two women with a Cane Corso identified as Fenixx. They each are holding a leash, pulling on Fenixx in opposite directions while one of them whips the dog with a quirt.
“While the video is disturbing for many to watch, what needs to be understood is that Fenixx at the time was attempting to chew through a leash, which would have allowed Fenixx to bite either Ms. Frey or her daughter,” Drell explained.
He maintains that while the quirt makes noise while striking the dog, it is not painful.
