Dog Daycare Employee Faces Charges For Kicking Puppy To Death

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A dog daycare employee has been charged in connection to him kicking a dog to death.

Adriano Demorais, 33, of Prince George’s County, has been arrested and charged with felony cruelty to animals in connection to an incident that happened Feb. 16. According to evidence, Demorais, who works at District Dogs, was working overnight at the Navy Yard location. He was feeding dogs in the early morning when Bronny, a 5-month-old Mountain Cur/German Shephard dog, was near Demorais’ feet. Demorais forcefully kicked Bronny in the left side of his stomach. Bronny briefly circled the room before collapsing several seconds later, according to police.

Bronny was taken to a veterinary facility where he was pronounced dead. Demorais admitted to kicking Bronny, claiming he kicked Bronny out of frustration over Bronny becoming too energetic while Demorais was trying to feed dogs. A necropsy report confirmed that Bronny’s cause of death was blunt abdominal trauma with subsequent hemorrhagic shock, the prosecution stated.

If convicted, Demorais faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.

This case is being investigated by the Humane Rescue Alliance and the Metropolitan Police Department.