A man from San Diego, Calif. says he caught a mail carrier repeatedly pepper spraying his dog on surveillance footage.
Alfonso Galindo, a father of two young children, tells ABC News affiliate KGTV that he decided to check his surveillance cameras after noticing strange stains on his patio. That footage allegedly showed a mail carrier pepper spraying Pupa, his family’s seven-year-old poodle mix, and the dog subsequently convulsing.
“It's heartbreaking,” Galindo told KGTV. “The dog is withering in pain… (It) makes me sick to my stomach.”
After searching through a month’s worth of footage, Galindo says he found nine other instances of the dog being attacked.
“It's a total betrayal of the trust,” Galindo said. “You would think the postal service is somebody you can trust.”
Galindo even claims that his children, aged one and three, have suffered respiratory problems from handling Pupa after the alleged pepper spraying incidents.
“I get livid thinking about it,” Galindo, who has filed reports with police and the U.S. Postal Service, said. “I believe what he's done to our family is criminal.”
According to KGTV, the U.S. Postal Service apologized to Pupa and the Galindo family in a statement.
“We do not condone our employees behaving in a manner which is not professional and courteous,” that statement read. “The appropriate personnel and corrective action will be taken as well as training given to all local letter carriers.”
