A 60-year-old Tacoma dog trainer was charged Tuesday for teaching two dogs to fight each other last year, leading to both dogs being injured.
The suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree animal cruelty for the November 11, 2025 incident at the PacwestK9 dog training facility on 6th Avenue in Tacoma, according to court records obtained by The Tacoma News Tribune.
According to the probable cause affidavit, an officer was dispatched to the facility on November 21, 2025, where a witness working for the company had shown officers security footage of the alleged attack.
Security camera records trainer prompting aggressive dogs to confront each other
At approximately 5:40 p.m. that day, footage showed the suspect sitting on a bench drinking water with multiple dogs around him. The suspect was allegedly seen saying he wanted to see a fight.
The man allegedly said, “I need a fight” and “Whose dog are you going to fight tonight?” according to The Tacoma News Tribune.
The footage also pictured the suspect walking to a kennel and asking the dog if it wanted to fight another dog. One of the dogs, a tan Doberman named Thanos, walked out of the kennel.
Another dog, a Labrador mix named Nino, then approached Thanos. The witness told the officer that the man knew Thanos and Nino were aggressive toward each other, according to court documents.
The dogs began barking and growling at each other. The suspect allegedly held Thanos to the ground and allowed Nino to bite him in the front leg. The man also yelled that he had been bitten on the arm and let go of Thanos.
The dogs then bit each other, and the suspect was unable to separate them. Eventually, the two dogs separated on their own after roughly two minutes of fighting.
Trainer claimed dogs fought on their own, video told different story
The witness asked the man to explain what had happened, and he said Thanos escaped from the kennel and attacked Nino. The witness confirmed that the suspect’s story did not match what was seen on the footage.
Documents showed Thanos had puncture wounds to his legs and foot, while Nino had puncture wounds to his neck and face.
The suspect had been working at the facility for three months, according to the witness, and she was unaware of any prior incidents.
A facility manager reached out to investigators with a statement via email, including links to footage of the incident and a post-incident interview in which the witness asked the suspect to explain what happened.
A police report noted that the man had knowingly inflicted pain and injury on both dogs when he allowed them to fight. The suspect also caused injury and pain to Thanos when he put the dog on the ground for Nino to bite him.
This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
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