Dog trainer, 21, with TikTok following is arrested after video shows her choking, kicking animals

A Florida dog trainer with thousands of TikTok followers has been charged with abuse after she was caught on video choking and kicking animals.

Blessing Knighten, 21, was arrested Thursday and incarcerated at the Palm Beach County Jail after another dog trainer came forward with several videos of her pet abuse.

In a video described in a police report, Knighten can be seen choking a dog for 15 to 20 seconds as the animal’s paws are lifted off the ground and he cries out in pain.

The woman has since been charged with five counts of animal cruelty as officials say they look forward to bringing her to justice.

“Animal cruelty has no place in our community and we will see it being prosecuted every time we can,” said Dave Walesky of Palm Beach Animal Care and Control. WPTV.

In Florida, first-degree animal cruelty is punishable by up to 365 days in jail and fines of up to $5,000.

Walesky told the Florida outlet that they are cooperating with the state’s attorney’s office on this case and other animal cruelty cases in the area.

“Palm Beach County has zero tolerance for animal cruelty and we are very grateful for those partnerships with the state’s attorney’s office as well as the sheriff’s office and all other law enforcement agencies,” Walesky said.

Investigators were first called in mid-March by Steve Cabral, owner of Fine Line Family K-9.

Cabral filed complaints against Knighten and another former trainer who later moved to Michigan and has not been named.

In Knighten’s videos, the woman can be seen with a Belgian Malinois and a black German Shepherd.

“He showed me video of Blessing Knighten strangling a German Shepherd on what Cabral called a bite box,” reads the arrest report obtained by WPTV.

The dog’s front legs were off the ground. She then walks the dog around and the dog appears to be limping and in distress. She then hangs the dog on the bite box again. He’s struggling and you can hear the dog screaming.’

The owner of the Fine Line Family K-9 said Knighten was fired from his company after just two months.

However, Knighten reportedly told police that it was Cabral who instructed her to mistreat the dogs.

The detective said in the arrest report: ‘She stated that if a dog bites you put the dog on a leash and they had to do as they were told or they would be fired. Mrs. Knighten said she had a problem with that and how he treated the dogs.’

‘Mr. Cabral told her if she had a problem with that he would show them the videos.”

She confirmed that there is a video. I asked if she was using his methods and she said yes at first because she was in a bad place at the time,” the report reads.

The woman told the investigator she also believed Cabral’s case involved widespread animal abuse.

She said the typical practices are “not feeding the dogs,” “yanking things,” and not buying food.

“The dogs were very, very skinny,” she told the investigator.

Investigators questioned her story and described the situation outright.

Blessing Knighten repeatedly mistreated two dogs and defined it as training. This is a clear case of animal cruelty causing mental and physical pain,” the report said.

To make matters worse for the former dog trainer, she was arrested again over the weekend for allegedly stealing $4,213.53 worth of items from the business.

According to local media, Knighten was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail at 4:25 a.m. Saturday on two counts of unarmed burglary of a vacant building and grand larceny of less than $5,000.

Knighten denied committing the crimes, but police said they found several K-9 training items “in plain sight.”

The woman was later released on bail.

Knighten is then expected to appear in court on May 22.