December 01, 2015
A woman has been charged with animal cruelty after posting on social media what appears to be a photo of her dog with duct tape around its mouth.
The 45-year-old woman, identified by police as Katharine Lemansky, was staying in Cary, N.C., with her dog when the photo was taken.
Lemansky, whose Facebook page identifies her as Katie Brown and lists her residence as South Daytona, Fla., admitted that the incident took place in Cary, local police said.
RELATED ARTICLE: Woman receives backlash after posting photo of dog with duct-taped mouth
Katie Brown posted the photo on Facebook on Friday morning with the words, "This is what happens when you don't shut up!!!"
😡😡 to the fact this woman thought it was ok to duct tape her dog mouth is seriously disturb pic.twitter.com/GdnzPe7C14
— Stepfanie (@ayeitsstepf) November 28, 2015
Cary police say they worked with law enforcement officials across two states to investigate Lemansky after animal lovers flooded police with calls and emails.
Capt. Randall Rhyne said in a statement that while the animal cruelty charge is appropriate, the dog would not be removed from the owner.
"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," he said. "The dogs are current on their shots, spayed, and microchipped. They are clean and well-nourished and appear to be comfortable in their surroundings. And there were no signs of injury to Brown's muzzle, not even detectable hair loss."
Lemansky is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 14.
If convicted, she faces a fine and up to 150 days in jail.
