Dog owners have fought and won battles over bringing their pets into bars and grocery stores and onto airplanes. Now, a new front has opened over appropriate venues for pooches: Outside Lands.
After two men were spotted with a skittish-looking husky amid the crowds and noise of the three-day festival this month in Golden Gate Park, Reddit users labeled them as “dog abusers,” sparking a wave of online venom. One of them is now speaking out for the first time.
In one 20-second clip posted to Reddit, a man fiddles with the dog’s leash and appears to yell “fuck off” at someone standing nearby. It was recorded Aug. 9 during a performance by French house DJ Dombresky at the festival’s SoMa Stage.
The post called the men “abusers” for exposing their dog to loud music and allegedly mistreating it during the DJ’s set.
“The dog didn’t have any headphones or anything to protect him from the sound which was kind of sad but, no one really said anything,” the Redditor wrote. “It was cute for the first like minute when all of a sudden the guys who brought him who are visually fucked up start grabbing the dog and throwing it around and trying to dance with it.”
The Reddit user, who could not be reached for comment, also claimed that the men argued with a “group of girls” after getting booed by the crowd.
In another video, the same man is seen jumping up and down in an apparent attempt to hype up people around him, but the spectators seem more concerned with the dog’s well-being. The footage cuts to the man walking away with the dog on a leash as the crowd jeers.
“This poor dog got dragged by its owner to OSL,” the poster wrote. “I don’t know how it even got into the venue but it was clearly miserable. The owner started calling everyone Karens after he got called out.”
One of the men was outed on Reddit as Ikey Bensimhon, chief executive of Merch.com. He told The Standard that his reputation has been unfairly tarnished.
“It’s really frustrating how a short, out-of-context clip can create problems," Bensimhon said. He claimed he was sober during the periods caught on video, contrary to claims by Redditors, and emphasized that the 12-year-old dog is his friend’s “closest companion,” a well-trained, certified service animal. Bensimhon declined to identify the owner or verify the dog’s certification.
When he noticed that he was being filmed, Bensimhon suggested to his friend that they find another spot, rather than stir up hostility, he said.
“The second I saw what was happening, I leaned over and whispered, ‘Let’s go.’ We put her on the leash and left.
“We weren’t even there for more than two minutes,” he added. The incident was “a huge buzzkill” that cut short what had been “a perfect weekend” trip from Los Angeles.
But Redditors who claimed to have seen Bensimhon and his friend at Outside Lands said they misbehaved.“They came in so aggressive and pinned the husky down on the ground so it stayed in the corner,” said a concertgoer who claimed to have seen them in a lounge at the festival. “Once the husky was set to the corner and was threatened to remain there, they were the most obnoxious in the crowd. They got in everyone’s faces and were trying to get attention with their dancing and started yelling, ‘How come this crowd fucking blows?’”
Bensimhon said he and his friend followed festival rules. They entered through the disabled accessibility gate at 36th Avenue and John F. Kennedy Jr. Drive, as specified by Outside Lands organizers.
“Outside Lands is happy to host all trained service animals,” the festival’s website says. “Other animals will not be permitted into the festival.”
Concert attendees have the right to be accompanied by a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but animal advocates and trainers advise making sure dogs are equipped with ear protection.
“It is also important to make sure your service dog is adequately trained and prepared for this type of loud, chaotic environment,” United Support Animals’ website says. “Some service dog owners buy their dogs earmuffs for concerts, so the loud music does not hurt their ears.”
After reviewing one of the videos, David Baron, who runs Service Dog School of America in Roseville, said the husky appeared distressed.
Baron said the amplified music would have been painful for the dog, which has a much wider auditory range than humans. “The dog was clearly unhappy. It looked like it was very scared,” he said.
Baron also questioned the handler’s qualifications to use a service animal, citing his “jumping around screaming and yelling. That would freak out anybody’s dog.”
Baron emphasized that proper training for handling service animals involves understanding which environments are inappropriate. He added that his clients routinely use protective ear equipment when bringing service dogs to sporting events or other loud venues.
“It’s common sense,” he said. “The dog shouldn’t be where there’s amplified loud music unless it has ear protection.”
The trainer, who primarily works with golden and Labrador retrievers, faulted the handlers for being “oblivious” to both the dog’s stress signals and to concert etiquette.
“It’s like going to an adult bookstore, and somebody’s there with their kid,” Baron said. “It’s just inappropriate.”