How does a guy who hosts a show called "The Dog Whisperer" wind up being sued for abusing a dog at a puported "canine training facility" that sounds more like a hound torture chamber? Trainer Cesar Millan, who stars in the aforementioned National Geographic Channel series, is being targeted in the suit filed by "8 Simple Rules" producer Flody Suarez on Thursday in L.A. Superior Court. It stems from Suarez's allegation that his 5-year-old Labrador retriever, Gator, suffered injuries at Millan's Dog Psychology Center facility on Feb. 27 that cost more than $25,000 in veterinary medical bills.

According to the suit, the problems stemmed from a choke collar having been placed on the dog and his being forced to "overwork" on a treadmill. It's said to have led to severe bruising, bleeding from the mouth and nose, breathing issues and damage to the dog's esophagus so extensive that it will require additional surgeries.

This is, of course, not the kind of thing a blogger jokes about if he values his continued existence. But I am nonetheless wondering why it is that a "whisperer" needs choke collars and high-speed exercise equipment to help a dog deal with fears of other dogs and strangers -- which was evidently what inspired Suarez to take his dog there in the first place. Millan's show isn't "The Dog Traumatizer," after all. Oh yeah, and what's the deal with running something called the Dog Psychology Center? Forgive me, because I know this is in part what "Dog Whisperer is all about, but at the DPC is the dog supposed to lay down on a couch and share about how this all began back in puppyhood or what?

Ray Richmons

If true, these charges are reprehensible, cruel and -- yes -- criminal on the facility's part. As a dog owner, if these guys did to my Cavalier Spaniel/Jack Russell Terrier mix Travis what's alleged here, I fear that I'd be tempted to take matters into my own hands.