Labor ordered in PR animal cruelty case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman was ordered Wednesday to serve two days on the sheriff’s labor detail for throwing a misbehaving puppy to the ground and pummeling it, court records show.

Megan Ranae Smith was charged with animal cruelty in connection with the Oct. 6, 2016, incident outside Mac’s Gas & Grocery in Priest River.

A sheriff’s deputy witnessed Smith reach into the vehicle and withdraw the puppy. She brought the animal over her head and slammed to the parking lot and battered it, a probable cause affidavit said. The incident was so alarming to a 7-year-old girl that it brought her to tears, according to the affidavit.

Smith said she was disciplining the dog for chewing a fishing rod that was in the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Smith, 23, initially pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor offense, although the prosecution offered a pretrial settlement agreement which proposed a suspended jail term and two days of service in the sheriff’s labor program, court records indicate.

The deputy, Kimberly Kempton, conducted follow-up after the incident and found the puppy, named Ruger, to be in good condition despite the mistreatment, Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall has said.

Judge Debra Heise imposed two days of jail during a sentencing hearing. The custodial service was converted to 16 hours of labor in the sheriff’s program. Smith was also fined $250, court records show.