Dog dies after pet daycare director throws phone at it, CCTV shows

A dog died at a Seoul pet daycare center after the director threw a mobile phone at it, according to reports.

The incident occurred Oct. 12 at a pet daycare center in Seoul, KBS reported Wednesday. The director, identified only as A, was holding a mobile phone while tending to the dogs at the time.

When two dogs began fighting nearby, A threw the phone at them. The moment was captured on the facility's CCTV footage.

One of the dogs was struck and collapsed on the spot. A rushed over and picked the dog up, but it did not move.

The dog's owner, identified only as B, received a call from the director about an hour after the incident. "They said the dog suddenly died after falling from two or three steps," B said. "But that's not how my dog would die."

Two days later, B demanded to see the CCTV footage, at which point the director acknowledged that the original account had not been accurate.

"This is just like losing my own child — my everything," B said. "My child was killed."

About two weeks after the incident, the daycare center was still operating.

B filed a complaint with police against A on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act.

A declined an interview request from reporters, saying it was time to care for the dogs.

Under the current Animal Protection Act, anyone who causes an animal's death without justifiable cause can face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,500).

In practice, however, more than 6,000 animal abuse reports are filed each year, yet courts hand down actual prison sentences in only about six cases annually on average.