SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. -- The owner of a commercial dogsledding operation could face an animal cruelty charge after a former employee told police the man punched a dog and hit the animal with a pipe, police said.

The allegation against Dan MacEachen, the owner of Krabloonik, will be forwarded to the district attorney's office.

A former employee at Krabloonik lodged the abuse complaint on Nov. 23, shortly after losing his job there. Snowmass Village police and the town's animal control officer have investigated Eric Glukowsky's allegations and will turn their findings over to the district attorney's office, which will ultimately decide whether or not charges are warranted, Police Chief Art Smythe told The Aspen Times.

Glukowsky said he witnessed MacEachen mistreat a dog that had snapped at MacEachen's young grandson, punching the animal, yanking its chain as if to choke it and throwing a piece of pipe at it multiple times, striking it perhaps twice. The child wasn't hurt.

Guy Courtney, general manager at Krabloonik, said the allegation of abuse is simply "not true."

"It did not happen," Courtney told TheDenverChannel.com. "There is not a dog here that is mistreated."

Courtney said one of the dogs did lunge at MacEachen's toddler grandson, knocking the boy down and puncturing the little boy's face. The incident happened during feeding time at the kennel.

"Dan interceded and disciplined the dog on the spot," Courtney said. "That discipline was grabbing the dog by its collar."

Courtney said MacEachen also picked up a piece of plastic pipe and swatted the dog once on its flank.

"It's attention getting. There's a direct correlation to the dog to what has just occured. The dog realizes, 'Oh, I shouldn't have done this,'" Courtney said.

"That was the end of it," he said. MacEachen then left the kennel to tend to his grandson and, that evening, explained the incident to his mushers.

Glukowsky told police he confronted MacEachen to object and was later fired for an unrelated matter that was used as an excuse for his termination. Glukowsky contacted The Aspen Times on the same day he made a statement to police.

Courtney said Glukowsky was terminated right before he went to police. He said Glukowsky had been employed as a rookie musher for about three weeks but had consistently made poor decisions, avoided chores and refused to do what he was asked by supervisors. Courtney said he had called police about Glukowsky within a couple days of his termination because Glukowsky had been overheard in the dorm threatening to kill others at Krabloonik.

"This is a vindictive, vengeful individual, a former employee," Courtney said.

MacEachen and his employees were cooperative during the investigation, Smythe, the police chief, said.

“We certainly didn't see any felony issues,” Smythe said.

The district attorney will decide whether a misdemeanor cruelty charge — or if any charge — is appropriate, he said.

Police received a similar complaint regarding Krabloonik last winter and decided no charge was warranted, according to Smythe. The district attorney's office later confirmed that decision, he said.

“In this case, we just think it's best for them to decide,” Smythe said.

In 2005, MacEachen set off a firestorm of controversy after he admitted that unwanted sled dogs not given up for adoption were shot in the back of the head with a .22-caliber rifle and buried in a pit. MacEachen said he used the practice for 30 years to kill older dogs at the end of their working lives or pups that are incapable of pulling a sled. The practice is legal under Colorado law. But it drew criticism from the American Humane Association, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called the practice "barbaric."

MacEachen vowed to expand his efforts to find homes for the dogs. His Web site features a section on "Dog Adoptions."

On the Krabloonik Web site, MacEachen describes his dog sledding business as a "labor of love."He said each dog costs about $1.50 a day, which covers food, minor vet bills and maintenance. He offers sled trips and kennel tours and operates a restaurant.

Currently, 226 dogs live at Krabloonik.