Couple Boarded Dog While Welcoming Their 1st Baby — Then Doggy Daycare Worker Allegedly Beat Animal to Death

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A 20-year-old Seattle man pleaded not guilty Monday, Oct. 13, to a first-degree animal cruelty charge stemming from the August death of a 6-year-old dog.

• Dejean Bowens is accused of punching and kicking the dog to death while working at Lazy Dog, Crazy Dog daycare in Seattle, Wash.

• The dog’s owners described the incident as “earth-shattering” when they attended Bowens’ hearing this week.

A Seattle couple is grieving the “earth-shattering” death of their 6-year-old dog, Mitch, who authorities allege was beaten to death by a kennel worker who became angry with the dog after the animal crashed into something in early August.

Neela and Anthony Brocato told locals KOMO News The couple said their dog’s death was “hard to relive” after attending the first court appearance of Dejean Bowens, who allegedly attacked their dog, on Monday (October 13).

Bowens, 20, was arrested in late September and charged with first-degree animal cruelty; This charge could lead to up to five years in prison, KOMO reported. Bowens is currently under house arrest while awaiting trial and pleaded not guilty on Monday, according to KOMO and local media. KING 5 And fox 13.

Bowens is due back in court in November, with a potential trial date set for Dec. 24, according to King County Superior Court records reviewed by PEOPLE.

King County prosecutors argued in court that security footage provided by the Lazy Dog, Crazy Dog daycare showed Bowens punching and kicking his black Labrador retriever, Mitch, as the dog tried to cower under the table, according to King 5.

Prosecutors alleged Bowens waited nearly an hour before taking the dog to an emergency veterinarian, where medical staff performed CPR for 20 minutes before the dog was declared dead, according to the outlet.

The Brocatos told KOMO that they put Mitch in the kennel in early August when Neela gave birth to their first child. “We were eagerly waiting for him to meet his little sister, who was born just three days before he was kicked to death,” Neela told the media this week. “This is something I was looking forward to, and I feel like it robbed us of so much of the joy we were supposed to experience in the first few days and weeks after our daughter was born.”

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Neela told KOMO that it was “incredibly difficult” for her and her husband to see Bowens in court. “But justice is very important to Mitch,” the new mother said.

She said Mitch was “the sweetest, most loving dog and fair creature who brought joy to everyone’s life and everyone he touched.”

“This senseless act of violence was earth-shattering for us,” Neela added.

The Brocatos also told KOMO News they plan to file a lawsuit against Lazy Dog, Crazy Dog daycare. PEOPLE reached out to the daycare for comment but did not immediately receive a response as of Thursday, October 16.

The Seattle-based kennel declined interviews with other media outlets this week but shared the following: a statement It was stated on Facebook that Bowens was “immediately terminated” after Bowens learned of the August 3 incident.

“We are heartbroken and angry about what happened,” the nursery’s statement said.

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