Woman, 73, who tried to poison neighbor's dog after getting tired of its barking found guilty of animal cruelty
COLORADO SPRINGS: A 73-year-old Colorado woman, who she was captured on video trying to poison her neighbor’s dog, has been found guilty of animal cruelty.
Earlier in April this year, Margaret Werker was caught in the surveillance camera of her neighbor throwing poisonous substances over the fence onto the latter's backyard. In the footage, obtained by11 News, the dog named Wrigley can be seen walking up to the fence that separated its owner's property from Werker's.
The woman's attempt, however, was foiled by the fact that the poisonous substance got caught on the top of the fence.
After Wrigley's owner viewed the security tape, he immediately alerted the Colorado Springs police.
According to police sources, Werker might have taken this step after getting tired of the sound of Wrigley's bark.
“There were some concerns with some complaints about a barking dog in that area," Lindsey Vigna the Assistant Director for Law Enforcement explained.
"We weren’t really ever able to pinpoint down who it was coming from. But, we believe that’s where it stemmed from, a barking issue.”
Werker was arrested on May 4 and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals.
She pleaded guilty to the charge on July 9 and received a deferred sentence.
The judge also ordered her to make a $250 donation to the humane society.
"Poisoning cases can be very difficult to investigate and charge because usually there is very little evidence linking a suspect to the crime," the humane society wrote in a release. "However, in this case, the victim had proof. He had obtained video of his neighbor throwing a substance into his backyard, which later tested positive for poisonous material."
Meanwhile, authorities have determined that the substance thrown by Weker as ground chicken dipped in antifreeze.
Luckily, the dog did not end up eating the poisonous material and survived.