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Apr. 3—A man accused of brutally abusing several dogs nearly a year ago at a Santa Fe dog boarding, grooming and day care business faces three criminal counts of extreme cruelty to animals.
A criminal complaint filed Monday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court alleges Onan Daniel Sanchez, 32, was captured on video punching dogs he was grooming at Paws Plaza and harming them in other ways over several hours one day in May 2023. The fourth-degree felony charges against him carry a maximum penalty of 4 1/2 years in prison.
Paws Plaza assistant manager Bridget Hogan — who was the acting supervisor the day the allegations emerged — said in an interview Wednesday the incident was "shocking" and "traumatic."
Sanchez was fired immediately, she said, and the business quickly improved its practices to ensure the safety of dogs entrusted to its care.
Hogan said she cried when she watched videos showing Sanchez's alleged abuse of three dogs. "It was a pretty traumatizing experience," she said.
She reported the alleged abuse to police hoping to ensure Sanchez would never be able to work around animals again, Hogan said, but as time went by she began to grow worried he would never be held accountable.
The city of Santa Fe's Animal Services took a report of the allegations two days after the May 15 incident, but the case wasn't investigated by police until months later — on Jan. 4.
"It really seemed like nothing was going on with the case whatsoever until last month," Hogan said. That's when she was finally contacted by an investigator.
Santa Fe police did not respond to requests for more information about the case, including questions about why the investigation was delayed for several months and why Sanchez was not arrested on the three felony counts.
The owners of the dogs involved in the incident said their pets seem to have mostly recovered from the injuries they sustained.
Bianca Ceballos, whose pitbull mix Bruno and brown Doberman Rocky were named in the criminal complaint against Sanchez, said it was "heartbreaking" when Hogan called her to tell her what had happened.
An exam performed by a veterinarian after the incident showed Ceballos' dogs suffered physical injuries, police wrote in the complaint. However, the veterinarian's report was not included in the document.
Ceballos acknowledged her pets' injuries Wednesday, adding she believes they also suffered emotional harm.
"They're still a little skittish, especially around men," she said. "We've had to do a lot of work with them to make them more comfortable in those kinds of clinical environments, like going to the vet. Every time there is a man, it's a lot harder to get them to do things that were way easier before."
Christine Remy, whose golden retriever Soleil also was cited as a victim of Sanchez's alleged abuse, said she and her late husband did not notice any injuries after the incident. Remy said she had to find a new home for Soleil recently for reasons unrelated to the incident.
When she spoke with police, Remy said, she declined to watch the video of the incident because she believed it would be too upsetting.
Several attempts to reach Sanchez for comment on the allegations were unsuccessful Wednesday.
The state Law Offices of the Public Defender, which has been assigned to represent him, wrote in an email, "it's very early in this case, and we will now begin our investigation into these allegations."
Investigators who viewed surveillance video from Paws Plaza describe a disturbing scene in a statement of probable cause.
The footage shows Sanchez alone in a bathing and grooming room with the three dogs over the course of the day, according to the statement. He punched each of the dogs with a closed fist and allowed them to hang by leashed collars off a grooming table as they struggled to breathe, the investigators wrote.
They also alleged Sanchez shook the dogs violently and forced them into awkward positions. The animals cowered and in some cases defecated in fear, the investigators wrote.
The statement alleges Sanchez could be seen in the footage grabbing and pulling the dogs forcefully by their necks, throwing them to the ground, hitting them with grooming tools and punching them "for no apparent reason."
The statement described Sanchez's treatment of the dogs as "torture."
Hogan said in Wednesday's interview there had been no signs Sanchez was mistreating animals before that day.
He had worked at Paws Plaza for about a year as a groomer and dog handler, she said, and had worked for a couple of months during a previous stint, when he left on his own terms.
Supervisors had performed a background check, but at that time he had not faced any criminal charges, she said.
"He was an easygoing guy, easy to work with and seemed to treat the dogs really well — at least when we were around," Hogan said. "He really didn't seem like that kind of person."
She and other employees felt as if they had been "lied to" about what type of person he was, she added.
After the incident, Hogan said, Paws Plaza revamped its policies and protocols in an effort to prevent abuse. The business installed more cameras and now ensures two groomers work together at all times, so they are always accountable to one other.
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