The asshole you see repeatedly kicking and yanking this dog all over the place—at one point lifting the dog up off the ground by the leash—is Desmond Hague, CEO of Centerplate. If you've ever been to a sporting event, you've probably bought something from him; Centerplate is a food service company that makes the over-priced food in many of the stadiums in North America.
A Vancouver hotel's elevator surveillance camera caught the footage in July but authorities only became aware of it recently when an employee shared it. They were able to identify the man as Hague and charges are expected to be filed.
Hague issued a statement saying his behavior was "completely and utterly out of character" and that he was "ashamed and deeply embarassed" by what he had done.
He said a minor frustration with a friend's dog caused him to lose his composure.
"I have reached out to the SPCA and have personally apologized to the dog's owner," he wrote. "At this time, I would like to extend my apology to my family, company and clients, as I understand that this has also reflected negatively on them."
Hague is probably the owner. Why would he think kicking the shit out of someone else's dog would play better than kicking the shit out of his own dog? Probably because investigators think this might not be the first time his dog, named Sade, has been abused. So says Lorie Chortyk, spokeswoman for the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Chortyk said the investigation found that Hague is the owner of the year-old Doberman Pinscher named "Sade" and that the July incident may not have been the first time the animal was mistreated.
"The way she behaves certainly gives the indication of fearfulness, and that indicates she has received this treatment before," Chortyk said. "Our paperwork indicates that it was his dog."
Centerplate is essentially everywhere. If they aren't currently in your local arena or stadium, they probably have been at one time. The Venue Locations portion of their website is curiously unavailable, but they are still advertising for jobs at certain locations. These are just some of the venues/teams they service or have serviced very recently:
- Levi's Stadium
- Notre Dame
- Tropicana Field
- Qualcomm Stadium
- Fedex Field
- Colonial Life Arena At the University of South Carolina
- KFC Yum! Center (University of Louisville)
- Safeco Field
- AT&T Park
- The Superdome
- Belmont Park
- Sun Life Stadium
- Durham Bulls
Dog-kicking video taints food vendor [UT San Diego]