WESTFIELD – A woman is facing a felony charge of cruelty to an animal after she allegedly poured bleach over her boyfriend’s dog and left the dog to soak in the bleach all day.
The dog’s owner had reportedly reacted to her ultimatum by choosing the dog over her. Kenneth Frazer, the director of animal control operation in the city, reports that Officer Luis Morales referred the case to him after he responded to the owner’s complaint Thursday.
Frazer said that his investigation showed that the woman did not like her boyfriend’s Jack Russell terrier dog and, he reports, “every chance she had, she kicked it or molested it in some way.”
Frazer said that the dog eventually bit the woman and she gave her boyfriend an ultimatum, a choice between her and his dog.
“He chose the dog” Frazer reports and said that after the man left for work the woman poured bleach over the dog and also left for the day, leaving the dog in the bleach until its owner came home.
“The dog’s feet were all burned, they were cherry red from sitting in the bleach all day” Frazer said and added that bleach got in the dog’s eyes.
Frazer reports, “the dog’s doing fine” after appropriate medical treatment.
He said that the woman will be summoned to court to answer a charge of cruelty to an animal.
Police Capt. Michael McCabe, Frazer’s supervisor, points out that there is no direct evidence to incriminate the woman for the abuse.
He said that police have determined that the suspect woman was alone in the residence with the dog which had recently bitten her and with which she had reason to bear animus. McCabe said, there is no evidence that anybody else made entry to the apartment. Still, he said, nobody saw the woman pour bleach on the dog.
McCabe said that he told Frazer to bring the charge against the woman.
“I don’t know if it’s winnable”, he said, but filing charges will put the case in the hands of the district attorney’s office.
