WATERTOWN, Conn. — An Oakville man spoke out Friday on the alleged abuse his dog suffered at Black Rock Canines in Naugatuck.
Up to this day, he said his dog is still recovering from the trauma.
He shared with FOX61 disturbing photos of his dog's injuries from last year.
Scout, who was a 1-year-old dog last year, was brought to Black Rock Canines to be trained.
"Really loving and friendly. She's a great, great companion," said Nick Perugini of Oakville.
Perugini bought Scout at just eight weeks old at the facility. When she turned one, Perugini enrolled her in the facility's training program.
Scout was there for 20 days and from time to time, Perugini would visit the facility to join in on the training but immediately, there were red flags.
"First time, they didn't even know why the dog was there and so I was shocked. Then, both times I noticed that she had sores on her body and I noticed a little bit of weight loss," added Perugini.
David Rivera Junior, the owner of Black Rock Canines allegedly told Perugini the marks on Scout's body were normal.
Just recently, Rivera Junior was arrested and charged for the alleged abuse happening at the facility and the possession of illegal firearms and explosives.
Two other individuals were also arrested and charged.
"He just seemed like he didn't care and when I went to pick Scout up, David was never there the entire time," added Perugini.
However, he said the second time he paid Scout a visit, he knew something was wrong and immediately rushed her to an animal hospital.
"Sores on all of her elbows and ankles, her paw was bloodied, her throat had burn marks from where the e-collar was on and it was swollen like a baseball and she also had two ear infections," added Perugini.
Perugini said he had paid Rivera Junior $2,500 for Scout to be trained.
When he found out what was actually happening, he asked Rivera Junior for the money back.
"I was able to be reimbursed. He didn't want to but he reimbursed me and then he was supposed to pay for the medical bills as well and when I asked him to pay for the medical bills, he found out I went to the police, and he wanted me to sign an NDA," added Perugini.
Perugini refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement.
One year later, Scout has healed from her physical injuries but has suffered from a serious case of separation anxiety since then.
Moving forward, Scout will be trained by a family friend, someone who used to train dogs and they said they will train Scout at no charge.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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