Idaho woman slammed for punching dog's face heavily in crazy video, may face six months in prison for cruelty
EAGLE, IDAHO: An Idaho woman is facing animal cruelty charges after a video that went viral on social media showed her repeatedly punching her dog.
In the 13-second clip, which was posted on Snapchat, the woman can be seen donning workout gear and boxing gloves and attacking her German Shepherd in the face. The dog seemingly tries to ward itself, but to little avail.
You can watch the video here.
Someone in the background then quips, "We’re boxing animals. Where’s Sarah McLachlan?" referring to the singer and well-known animal rights activist, whose songs have been featured in ads for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A few seconds in, the dog yelps in pain as she manages to land a hard punch on it and says, "I hit him so hard I felt that through..." The clip then abruptly ends with her in mid-sentence.
Angry social media followers called for her to face justice for her actions, with many asking that she be prosecuted.
"And then, one day when the dog has had enough and turns on her, they'll put it down because it's too aggressive. You should need a license to own a pet, this human trash would fail the exam," one user wrote.
"I hate that she says she’s not hurting the dog... it literally cries!!! And boxing gloves are heavy. My heart," a second commented.
"Are people really justifying this bcuz she was wearing boxing gloves? Do some of you realize a certain amount of force behind those things can still cause brain damage and inflict wounds?" another posted.
The video eventually reached the attention of the woman, who defended herself in some private messages to the uploader and claimed she was just "playing" with her dog and that he wasn't hurt.
"That's my dog," she said. "He plays hard. A girl gunna hit him a little bit and you guys wanna press some girl hitting him with gloves. Never got hurt and was playing the entire time. I'd never let my dog get hurt. You are outta pocket with this s***."
When the uploader questioned her how he was out of line, she responded, "Because we are playing with my dog that's playing back? You're outa pocket and always wanna blow s*** up for likes and followers. It is what it is man. I do what I do with my dog. He thinks it's a game was he hurt at all in the video or at all? He's literally laying with me in bed."
But reports of the video reached the ears of the Idaho Humane Society, of who confirmed they were looking into the case.
"We are looking into this. No one else needs to call Animal Care and Control. It’s always best to report it to us to look into before people go and hide their profiles. It makes it harder to work from when all that’s left are screenshots," the organization tweeted.
Kristine Schellhaas, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Humane Society, confirmed to the Idaho Statesman that the shelter’s Animal Care and Control division had started an official investigation against the woman, who has not been publicly identified.
She said the Boise City Prosecutor’s Office could charge the woman under Idaho statute 25-3518, which addresses “beating and harassing animals". The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six months in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.