ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A woman is demanding answers from a local pet boarding company after she says the business owner accidentally sent her a video of them kicking her puppy.
What was supposed to be a weekend getaway for Liz Colley and her husband turned into a nightmare.
Colley boarded her then 4-month-old puppy Wyatt at Holistic Mindful Animal Care in St. Johns County in April. The business is run by Dan Bungard out of his house. Bungard also used to be a dog trainer at ‘Sit Happens’ in St. Augustine.
Part of Colley’s boarding agreement required Bungard to send her 2 videos of Wyatt each day. However, the first video sent to Colley would be the last.
“He (Bungard) kicked Wyatt, and Wyatt ran away from him screaming in fear and pain. And he chased him down and kicked him three more times,” said Colley. “When I saw him kick Wyatt, I just screamed. I dropped my phone and I screamed.”
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Colley picked up Wyatt, who was okay, that same day. She called animal control a few days later. Bungard was given a $500 citation for Animal Cruelty. This isn’t Bungard’s first animal control citation. In 2024, he got a ticket for letting a dog go off-leash and uncontrolled.
Bungard agreed to speak with Action News Jax. We asked him to explain what happened in the video. He says this is a misunderstanding, and he was trying to stop a multi-dog fight from happening.
“There was no intent to harm. There was no unnecessary harm. I was doing what I needed to do to stop a dog fight,” said Bungard.
Bungard says he has a bad back, which is why he uses his foot as much as he does.
“I was justified in using the tools that I had to do what I needed to do because I couldn’t bend over and grab them,” said Bungard.
For Colley, she just wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to another animal.
“He’s around these animals that don’t have a voice all day, every day,” said Colley. “And I don’t want that to happen anymore.”
Bungard is due in court on July 31st.
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