An Alexandria man is behind bars for allegedly abusing several dogs, leading to the death of one dog, at an award-winning boarding facility in Del Ray.
Kevin Malik Sanders, 29, was arrested on July 21, 2025, after the death of a two-year-old Golden Retriever named Abigail at Your Dog’s Best Friends (2000 Richmond Highway) on July 12, 2024. He was charged with four Class 1 misdemeanors and one count of felony animal abuse and is being held without bond.
“I was not aware of any incidents of abuse and they were never brought to my attention,” facility owner Paul Haire said. “If they were, he would have been fired on the spot.”
An anonymous employee at the animal boarding facility reported the incidents to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s (AWLA) Animal Services team. A search warrant was served, resulting in the seizure of more than 600 hours of video footage. The footage was taken from December 17, 2024, to January 24, 2025.
“The former employee provided initial video evidence, which indicated the cruelty occurred at the hands of one groomer,” AWLA said in a press release.
AWLA did not describe the alleged abuse, but a spokesperson told ALXnow that Sanders abusively handled the dogs.
“Sanders was still employed at Your Dog’s Best Friends at the time of the arrest,” AWLA said. “No complaint against Your Dog’s Best Friends was made by Abigail’s family because the actual cause of death was undisclosed by the facility.”
The Dog Store/Your Dog’s Best Friends (2301 Mount Vernon Avenue) won the 2024 Heart of Del Ray award from the Del Ray Business Association.
Haire the following statement:
Public Statement on the arrest of Kevin Sanders, a Your Dog’s Best Friends employee
We are reaching out today with transparency and care regarding an incident that has understandably raised alarm within our community. While we don’t have complete information yet, we want to issue our own statement.
A year ago, a young golden retriever in Kevin’s care for grooming died while on the table from what a vet confirmed was a heart attack. The vet who examined the dog within minutes stated she was certain that the dog had succumbed to a congenital heart defect, Dilated Cardio Myopathy. We were told the condition was “a ticking time bomb.”
This defect has become a recognized medical problem in this popular breed. The vet was specifically asked if there was any sign of any other contributing factor including trauma or asphyxiation and she indicated
without hesitation that there was not. When the dog’s heart attack began, the critical nature of the situation was not immediately apparent to Kevin as the dog appeared to quietly lower itself from a standing to a “sphinx” position. As is common practice in grooming, the dog was supported by loose chest and head straps. Kevin did not immediately recognize the dog going quiet as a sign of distress because the dog appeared calm, in a semi-upright position, and did nothing to indicate discomfort.We were told by the examining vet that, despite our rendering CPR in which the staff receives certified training, nothing Kevin could have done would have changed the outcome of the heart attack.
Immediately before the heart attack Kevin struggled to control the dog. He failed to follow our protocol of taking a dog off the table when this occurs.
- That struggle, while not rising to the level made in the accusations against Kevin, may have caused the dog enough stress to pull the pin on the ticking time bomb. While Kevin understood the gravity of his mistake, he was removed from grooming to undergo a rigorous retraining from our 2 senior groomers in our ‘No Fear” protocols and safety measures. This took place over several months before he was allowed to resume limited responsibilities as a bather.
Neither before this incident or after have we seen or have had reported to us any injury or customer complaint about the treatment of dogs in our grooming regarding Kevin or anyone else. Nor has any dog since shied away from Kevin on a return visit. Those, and the supervision of the senior groomers, are the key factors we closely monitored on his return to grooming.
We understand how distressing this news may be and want to reassure you of the following:
- The health and safety of every dog in our care is our highest
priority.- We have reviewed all related procedures and are confident in the professionalism and compassion of our staff.
- We continue to work closely with veterinarians and animal care professionals to ensure we uphold the best standards in our industry. We know how much trust you place in us when you leave your pets in our care, and that trust means everything to us.
The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney provided the following statement to ALXnow on Tuesday evening.
Sanders Indicted for Felony Animal Cruelty
On July 14, 2025, the Grand Jury for the City of Alexandria returned a five count indictment against the defendant, Kevin Malik Sanders, a 29-year-old Alexandria resident, charging him with one felony count of animal cruelty resulting in the death of a companion dog and four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty of a companion dog not resulting in death. Sanders has been in custody since his arrest on July 21, 2025.
The charges arose following an investigation into Sanders’ actions while employed at Your Dog’s Best Friend, an animal boarding and grooming facility located in the Del Ray neighborhood of the City of Alexandria. The alleged criminal offenses took place between July 2024 and January 2025.
The matter was jointly investigated by the Alexandria Police Department and Alexandria Animal Control. The charges will be tried before the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria. The felony animal cruelty charge carries a potential maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. Each of the misdemeanor animal cruelty
charges carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail. The defendant is being held without bail in the William G. Truesdale Alexandria Adult Detention Center. The matter will be set on an upcoming Circuit Court docket for the selection of a trial date.
All persons charged with a criminal offense are presumed to be innocent. The fact a person has been charged with an offense is not evidence of guilt and the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving each element of every charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rule 3.6 of the Virginia State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys states, in pertinent part: “A lawyer participating in or associated with the… prosecution … of a criminal matter that may be tried to a jury shall not make or participate in making an extrajudicial statement… that the lawyer knows, or should know, will have a substantial likelihood of interfering with the fairness of a trial by jury.” Therefore, the Commonwealth is prohibited from discussing the evidence, its trial strategy, or its work product until the trial of the matter is completed.
