Two students of the State University of New York are facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly torturing and injuring an animal. Shane Oliver, of Bergen, and Robert Yates, of West Seneca, both 20, are accused of forcing a poor puppy to do a keg stand March 8 at an off campus house party.
The image of the black Labrador retriever being held up by his hind legs on top of a keg of beer at the multi-family house on Monroe Avenue in Brockport went viral on Twitter, leaving dog lovers across the country mad and angry. Brockport police officials said that the nozzle of the keg was right at the dog's mouth.
Yates, a nursing student at the College at Brockport, who took the picture and tweeted it.
"#just saw on the news about a dog that was forced to do a #keg stand at a party those people should be thrown into jail for life," Daniel Dum, a dog lover, tweeted.
Paul Beaumont, an assistant dog warden for the town of Sweden, said that the 4-month-old, Mya, was immediately seized and transported to the Sweden Animal Shelter. The puppy is currently in good health, TWC News reports.
Dr. Simon Kirk, emergency veterinarian, said that giving alcohol to a dog is similar to giving alcohol to a child. Younger dogs like Mya have difficult time breaking it down.
"There are a lot of good kids at this school. Sometimes poor decisions are made. If they stop and asked themselves, is this the right thing to do?," said Lt. Mark Cuzzupoli of the Brockport Police Department.
When Yates' housemates were questioned, they said that Mya belonged to another man who lives with them. Police officials said that the owner of the black lab was not present at the time of the incident and is not involved.
Luke Biondi, one of Yates' housemates, said that the students are not horrible people and did not intentionally mean to harm the dog. They all love Mya. She is a great dog.
Brockport Police said that the investigation is on and more charges are possible. Besides the charges, Brockport students will face disciplinary actions from the university as well, according to NY Daily News .