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Burlingame Dog Sitter Charged With Animal Cruelty Following Humane Society's Release of Disturbing Video

Prosecutors say they've decided to charge the owner of a Peninsula dog-sitting service with animal cruelty after a neighbor captured video of a woman allegedly abusing a dog in her care.

The woman, identified by prosecutors as Linda Levac, runs the dog walking and boarding business out of her home behind Burlingame High School. Earlier this month, the Humane Society released a disturbing video showing a woman picking a small dog up by the neck, slamming it to the ground and hitting it.

On Thursday, Levac pleaded not guilty through her attorney, Robert Courshon.

After seeing the video, workers from the Humane Society and the SPCA went to the woman’s home and seized 11 dogs.

"It saddens us, sickens us and horrified us," said Scott Delluchi, a spokesman for the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.

Levac was released after posting $10,000 bail, prosecutors said, the same amount as her possible fine if she is convicted.

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