A Roxboro, NC woman has been arrested for animal cruelty in Danville. On Thursday, the Danville Police Department was made aware of the complaint of prior animal abuse by an employee at Hollywood Pets located on Hairston Street in Danville.

This complaint included videos of the employee striking a dog in January and February of 2024, which was shared by the complainant to social media and other sources. Animal Control investigated the incident with the assistance of detectives with Criminal Investigations.

As a result, the Danville Police Department charged 22-year-old Cassidy Gill with animal cruelty. She was arrested and served the warrant from this investigation on Friday. At this time, no other criminal charges are expected.

Gill was fired after the owner saw the videos on April 26. Hollywood Pets posted a statement on social media on Thursday.

 

Dear Customers,

In light of recent videos being circulated on social media I would like to shed some insight to best of my ability and be as transparent as possible.

I received the videos on Friday, April 26th from PETA. After reviewing them I spoke with the employee involved first thing on her next scheduled work day Monday April 29th. At this time her employment was terminated immediately ! Apparently the videos had been recorded some time ago but were not presented to me when the incidents occurred. Only after our previous groomer ( who captured the videos ) was terminated on April 15th did she decide it was in her best interest to release them to PETA. The withholding of evidence of inexcusable behavior by a fellow employee to me is almost as reprehensible as the act itself. In addition, the installment of video surveillance cameras has been scheduled which will provide me with constant monitoring of all grooming activities in the future.

We deeply regret any of this occurred and I assure you these were isolated incidents . We have served Danville and the surrounding areas for 16 years and our reputation is excellent. I have spoken with numerous customers about the situation and they have been very supportive. For this we thank you !

In conclusion , I stand by and have full trust in the current staff here at Hollywood Pets , especially our new groomer Sydney Bayless, who started on April 29th ! I am available to try and answer any and all questions for our current customers regarding my handling of these events.

Derek Holley