Duct Tape Dog Pic Goes Viral, Sparks Animal Cruelty Investigation, But Owner Unlikely To Be Prosecuted [Video]


A Facebook photo of a dog with its mouth sealed with duct tape has dog lovers on the prowl for a south Florida woman. The photo, along with a Facebook conversation, has gone viral over social media, causing Volusia County law enforcement, based in South Daytona, Florida, to open an animal cruelty case.

According to the New York Daily News, South Daytona resident Katie Brown uploaded a picture to her Facebook account that showed her black lab dog, with his mouth shut with silver duct tape. The photo of the dog immediately sparked the outrage of animal lovers, who asked if Brown was serious about shutting the animal’s mouth with duct tape.

Brown captioned the photo “[t]his is what happens when you dont [sic] shut up!!!” After Facebook viewers called Brown to the mat about the offensive photo, telling the Katie she was an “animal abuser” and threatening to call the police, Katie became defensive.

In a subsequent post, Katie wrote “Dont [sic] panic everyone it was only for a minute but hasnt [sic] barked since… POINT MADE!!!” When questioned about whether she actually put duct tape over her dog’s mouth, the owner replied that she “couldn’t lie,” and claimed she left the tape on for a minute, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Outraged dog lovers have gone as far as publishing Brown’s phone number online.

Since the owner posted the photo at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 28, concerned and angry dog owners have inundated the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the South Daytona Police Department to let them know about the poor dog with duct tape over its mouth.

Enough concerned dog owners have called that the authorities have opened an animal cruelty case – and asked dog lovers to stop calling. The post Brown uploaded has been shared over 140,000 times on Facebook, according to the New York Daily News.

The News Journal claims it has received over 750 emails and Facebook messages from outraged dog fans all over the world.

According to the South Daytona News Journal, the City Of South Daytona posted on their Facebook page just before midnight, asking concerned parties to stop calling the police department with requests to prosecute Brown for placing duct tape on her dog.

The City of South Daytona posted that the police “are aware of the disturbing Facebook posting and photo by Katie Brown regarding her treatment of a dog.” City officials confirmed that there is “an active animal cruelty investigation in progress,” and assured concerned dog owners that they “ere taking this very seriously.” The post then tells people “don’t send further emails or messages as our email system is overwhelmed. We thank you for your help.”

Unfortunately, it looks like Katie is not likely to be prosecuted after authorities determined that Brown was out of state for the holiday weekend. It is likely the photo of the dog with its mouth covered in duct tape was taken out of the state of Florida, and therefore out of the jurisdiction of South Daytona.

On Saturday morning, the police confirmed that “this person was out of state for the holiday weekend. It appears that the photo was taken at that location.” According to city authorities, “the dog is OK at this time.”

The city also confirmed that, although she might not be able to be prosecuted, Katie might still be in hot water after putting duct tape on her dog. “Police will be contacting this person once she returns to our City,” the South Daytona city Facebook page asserts. A Change.org petition has been started, asking for the owner to be prosecuted.

According to the News Journal, Katie Brown is not the first person to face animal cruelty charges for putting duct tape on her dog. Last September, a North Carolina woman also used duct tape to quiet her dog and was charged with misdemeanor animal abuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX2TNe1KwWM

[Image via Facebook]

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