Trial Begins For Tulsa Dog Groomer Accused Of Animal Cruelty

The animal cruelty trial for a Tulsa dog groomer started on Monday.

Video showed the dog being beaten, and it later died.

It happened last year at a shop called "Doggy Doodles" in Tulsa.

Prosecutors charged Diego Angel with animal cruelty.

A big piece of evidence is the surveillance video from the shop.

The trial was to start first thing Monday morning but was pushed back until after lunch, and for the afternoon, the judge and prosecutors questioned 36 potential jurors.

None of them said they were familiar with Diego, but it's also not been described to them in detail with the video that has been widely seen.

For the last year, animal advocates have carefully watched this case, and kept up a pressure campaign to make sure it's prosecuted.

They were wearing t-shirts that said "Justice for Atlas" - that was the name of the dog that was killed - but after the last hearing and before the juror saw any of that - the judge said that spectators could not wear that in the courtroom, because it would improperly influence the jury.

District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler is personally prosecuting the case, with testimony expected on Tuesday, and a trial of just a couple of days.

The defense attorney said he does not plan to call witnesses beyond the few who are testifying for the prosecution.