3 trainers accused of using cayenne pepper to get show dogs to perform. Now they face animal cruelty

Source: Washington Post

3 trainers accused of using cayenne pepper to get show dogs to perform. Now they face animal cruelty charges.

By Lateshia Beachum
September 13, 2019 at 7:22 p.m. EDT

Three dog trainers are accused of animal cruelty for allegedly using cayenne pepper to get show dogs to perform a scene while filming in Pennsylvania for the cable series “Manhunt: Lone Wolf.”

Antonio Spencer, 32, and Ed Wiernik, 59, each face two counts of animal cruelty, and Philip Hoelcher, 73, faces four counts after a report to the cruelty hotline of Pittsburgh-based animal-resource community Animal Friends. Hoelcher denies the allegations.

An employee for the show’s camera department made a call to the hotline July 24 citing concerns about animal cruelty involving German shepherd-type dogs, according to court documents dated Aug. 29.

The trainers were tasked with getting the dogs to react as if they had eaten a cayenne pepper, but when the animals didn’t do as instructed, their handlers used a small amount of cayenne pepper on the dogs’ noses, which didn’t work, according to the report.

The trainers then used a handful of cayenne pepper, the court documents said. “After Wiernik put the cayenne pepper in the dog’s nose, the dog immediately dropped down to the ground and attempted to rub his face through the dirt and foliage. … These actions were repeated,” according to the court records.

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Read more: https://beta.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/09/13/trainers-are-accused-using-cayenne-pepper-get-show-dogs-perform-now-they-face-animal-cruelty-charges/