Florida groomer faces felony charge after ripping service dog’s tail off

The incident was 'one of the most difficult things' the sheriff had seen in the 39 years he's been in law enforcement

A dog groomer in Florida has been arrested after allegedly ripping off the tail of a disabled veteran’s German Shepherd and is facing a felony charge of animal cruelty. (Click Orlando)

A dog groomer in Florida has been arrested after allegedly ripping off the tail of a disabled veteran’s German Shepherd and is facing a felony charge of animal cruelty.

Police say that surveillance footage taken on February 6 show James Cordell Doughty Suthann visibly angry at the service dog, named TT, for moving around during the grooming session.

“The video is so graphic that I will not post on Facebook,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Facebook post. “But trust me when I tell you that it is one of the most difficult things I have ever had to watch in my 39 years of law enforcement because of the horrific and cruel way the pet was treated.”

The video footage, according to the sheriff, shows Mr Suthann squeezing the dog’s head and then lifting it from the ground by pulling on the tail, causing it “to be twisted a full 360 degrees and to be broken to the extent it could not be reattached.”

Mr Suthann is also seen hitting TT in the back of his head with a hose nozzle while bathing him after the tail ripping off incident.

The owner of 8-year-old German Shepherd is a veteran diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. The service dog is recovering after undergoing an emergency surgery to amputate the tail.

Mr Suthann was arrested on Monday following an joint investigation by the Satelitte Beach police Department and Brevard County Sheriff’s Animal Cruelty Unit.

He was booked into the Brevard County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

“Unfortunately, the maximum bond that could be placed on Suthann was $2,000.00,” Mr Ivey added, “because they don’t let me personally set the bond amounts for criminals like this guy!!”