US woman charged with animal cruelty after taping dog's mouth shut
- Published
A woman who posted a photo of her dog with its mouth taped shut on Facebook has been charged with animal cruelty.
Katharine Lemansky, 45, will be allowed to keep her chocolate lab-mix called Brown until she appears in court.
Police in the town of Cary, North Carolina, said they'd found no signs of injury or detectable hair loss on the animal's muzzle.
"Taping the dog's muzzle shut was a terrible decision on Ms Lemansky's part," said captain Randall Rhyne.
"At the same time, it's important to also note that our animal control officers who physically examined both Brown and her littermate found the dogs to be very well cared for, which is why we did not and could not remove them from the owner."
Concern for the dog spread online after its photo was posted on the woman's Facebook profile last Friday.
It had the caption, "This is what happens when you don't shut up!!!"
Police departments in Florida and Connecticut, two states where Katharine Lemansky was believed to have had ties, said they'd been inundated with phone calls and emails from around the world about the case.
According to officials, police officers in South Daytona in Florida tracked Ms Lemansky to North Carolina, where she admitted taping up the dog's mouth.
Katharine Lemansky, whose Facebook page lists her as Katie Brown, faces a fine and up to 150 days in jail over the charge - called a misdemeanour in America.
Police captain Randall Rhyne said in his statement that both of the dogs in Ms Lemansky's care were clean, well-nourished, microchipped and their shots were up to date.
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