Talk about a ruff crowd!
A Los Angeles-based tech boss is catching heat after he and his friend were filmed hauling a husky into San Francisco’s Outside Lands, where loud, thumping music left the pooch looking miserable.
Ikey Bensimhon, the CEO of Merch.com, was identified as the man who attended San Francisco’s Outside Lands music festival on Aug. 9 alongside his friend, who owns the dog.
Clips posted to Reddit from Aug. 9 show Bensimhon’s unidentified friend with the husky amid a pounding DJ set at Outside Lands’ SoMa Stage.
The incident was first reported by the San Francisco Standard.
Commenters blasted the pair as “dog abusers” and accused them of yanking the leash, pinning the animal and sneering at critics as “Karens.”
In a 20-second clip, the dog owner is seen fiddling with the husky’s leash and appearing to yell “F–k off!” at someone standing nearby.
In another video, the same man is seen jumping and dancing to the music, though the Reddit user who posted the clip was more focused on the animal.
“Poor baby,” read the caption on the video, which included a dog emoji and another emoji depicting a teary-eyed sad face.
“This poor dog got dragged by its owner to OSL,” the Reddit user who uploaded the second video wrote on the message board site.
“I don’t know how it even got into the venue but it was clearly miserable.”
According to the Reddit user, the dog’s owner “started calling everyone Karens after he got called out.”
“He was apparently rough with her and kicked her to stay down at one point,” the angry Redditor alleged.
Bensimhon 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 told the online publication over the weekend.
He disputed claims circulated by Redditors that he and his friend were intoxicated during the filmed portions that were uploaded online.
Bensimhon also told the Standard that the husky, who is 12 years old, is his friend’s “closest companion” and a certified service animal.
He said that when he and his friend noticed that they were being filmed, they moved to another location at the festival.
“The second I saw what was happening, I leaned over and whispered, ‘Let’s go.’ We put her on the leash and left,” he said.
“We weren’t even there for more than two minutes.”
Bensimhon lamented that the incident was “a huge buzzkill” that ruined what had to that point been “a perfect weekend” trip from Los Angeles.
But Reddit posters disputed Bensimhon’s account. They claimed the tech executive and his friend were excessively strict with the pet.
“They came in so aggressive and pinned the husky down on the ground so it stayed in the corner,” a witness who was said to have been at the festival told the Standard.
“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 f–king blows?’”
Bensimhon insisted he and his companion were in compliance with festival policy, saying they came in through the accessibility entrance on 36th Avenue and JFK Drive, the designated entry point for people with service animals.
According to Outside Lands, service dogs are allowed inside the event, but no other pets are permitted.
While federal law guarantees attendees can bring a trained service dog under the Americans with Disabilities Act, experts caution that the animals should also be protected from blaring sound.
United Support Animals notes that handlers should prepare their dogs for chaotic settings like concerts — often fitting them with special earmuffs so the booming music doesn’t cause pain.
Dog trainer David Baron, who runs Service Dog School of America in Roseville, told the Standard that the husky in the video showed clear signs of distress.
“The dog was clearly unhappy. It looked like it was very scared,” Baron said, adding that the pounding music would have been painful for the animal’s sensitive ears.
He also questioned whether the handler had the training needed to manage a service dog in such a chaotic environment.
“Jumping around screaming and yelling—that would freak out anybody’s dog,” Baron said.
Baron noted that responsible owners know certain venues simply aren’t appropriate for service animals, and many of his clients use protective earmuffs when bringing dogs into noisy stadiums or arenas.
“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 mostly works with golden retrievers and Labradors, accused the handlers of ignoring both the dog’s stress signals and basic concert etiquette.
He likened the scene to “going to an adult bookstore, and somebody’s there with their kid… it’s just inappropriate.”
The Post has sought comment from Bensimhon.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
