A Medford dog walker who is facing an animal cruelty charge denied the allegations against him as he left his arraignment Monday, calling the charge “a false report” that is “exaggerated.”
Medford officers arrested and charged Frederick Ingrando, 33, on Sunday after witnesses reported seeing a dog walker hit one of the dogs he was walking in the head multiple times, police said previously. Officers identified Ingrando through a video of the incident provided by one of the witnesses.
Ingrando pleaded not guilty to the charge during his arraignment Monday in Somerville District Court, court records show. The judge released him on personal recognizance bail and ordered him to stay away from the dogs involved in the incident and their owners, but did not bar him from working with dogs altogether.
After the arraignment, Ingrando spoke to reporters as he left the courthouse.
“Nothing happened. It’s a false report,” he said, before adding that he “loves” dogs.
Ingrando’s father also made comments to reporters after the arraignment, asserting that his son was “brought up the right way” and “has a condition.”
Ingrando was a hired dog walker through the pet care services app Rover. After being notified of the allegations against Ingrando, Rover suspended his account and is now conducting an investigation of his handling of animals, the app said in a statement Tuesday.
“We were shocked and disturbed to learn of this abhorrent behavior - there is zero tolerance for this type of treatment of pets in our community,” Rover said in the statement.
Rover is also assisting police in their investigation “to the fullest extent possible,” the app said.
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Videos of the incident that resulted in the charge were posted to Facebook on Monday. One video shows Ingrando roughly handling a Golden Retriever, and the other two show him arguing with a man who appears to be trying to intervene on behalf of the dogs.
As the two go back and forth while swearing at each other, Ingrando can be heard hurling racial slurs at the other man, who is Black.
After Ingrando’s arrest, police took the five dogs in his care — which were being boarded in a single room ― to a local kennel to await pick-up by their owners, NBC 10 Boston reported. The dogs are reportedly uninjured, but the kennel told the news station it is concerned about their emotional well-being.