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After thousands of animal lovers from across the country and around the globe flooded police and animal control offices in two different states with calls, messages, and emails demanding justice for a chocolate Lab whose mouth had been duct taped shut to prevent her from barking, police in Cary, North Carolina finally located and charged Katharine Lemansky, aka Katie Brown, with animal cruelty.
On December 14, Lemansky will appear in Wake County court to face a single charge of animal cruelty. One count of Class 1 Misdemeanor Cruelty to Animals, if convicted, carries with it a fine and up to 150 days in jail. Her animals were determined to be in good health and were not removed from her care.
Are the charges sufficient?
North Carolina law states the following:
§ 14-360. Cruelty to animals; construction of section. If any person shall intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of necessary sustenance, or cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
But, because Lemansky posted the images to Facebook, it could be argued that additional charges are due.
§ 14-361. Instigating or promoting cruelty to animals. If any person shall willfully set on foot, or instigate, or move to, carry on, or promote, or engage in, or do any act towards the furtherance of any act of cruelty to any animal, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Given the way the law is written above, should Lemansky be charged with two counts of animal cruelty?
Should she spend time in jail?
Should her pets (including the dog that was mistreated, that dog’s littermate, and a cat) be removed from her care?
Weigh in with a comment below!
Marie B
Jun 4, 2016 at 6:40 pm
Forget jail. The woman is a sicko. Shut her up in a room with no window for a week, with nothing but enough food and water, no visitors, no voices, Nothing. Give her time to reflect on what she’s done. Ohh and make sure she never, ever has a pet.
SANDRA
Apr 12, 2016 at 5:14 pm
A RESOUNDING YES TO JAIL TIME AND POSITIVELY REMOVE THE PETS. IF THESE PETS WERE LOVED, CARED FOR AND TREATED AS BELOVED MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE THEIR MOUTHS TAPED SHUT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. THAT’S CRUELTY, NEGLECT, ABUSE AND A SLOW TORTURE SINCE THE POOR BOY WAS PREVENTED FROM EVEN DOING THE BASICS IN LIFE SUCH AS EATING AND DRINKING. SHOWS SHE DOES NOT HOLD AN OUNCE OF VALUE FOR THAT PRECIOUS DOGS LIFE. JUST SICKENING WHAT THE WORLD IS COMING TO WHEN THESE INDIVIDUALS ACT OUT IN THEIR WARPED MINDS VENTING ON INNOCENSE.
Kenny0696
Dec 2, 2015 at 11:23 pm
No
Mary
Dec 2, 2015 at 3:54 pm
Any one that would treat living animal that way deserves to have her pets taken from her, she does not deserve them , and hell yes sshe do she deserves to spend time in jail!
Rachel Fields
Dec 2, 2015 at 2:05 pm
She has obviously shown that she has the potential to harm animals and that she shows no remorse for it. This in itself shows that she is an unstable person and could likely harm the animal again. A person such as this won’t accept blame for her actions so it’s likely she will blame the dog and take her frustrations about the consequences (ie jail time, community service, fines etc) out on the animal either through neglect or physical abuse. Removal of the animals from her would prevent future abuse out of retaliation which is what my fear is for this poor dog which I’m sure she blames for this whole situation.
Under the letter of the law she should face two charges for the act inself and promotion of animal cruelty. I pray that these animals can be safely re-homed and that she will pay for her crimes.
cheryl weeks
Dec 2, 2015 at 11:20 am
yes, i feel she should be charged, whats the difference in what she did and micheal vick? its all cruelty to animals. how if you are an animal lover be so cruel? the dog was doing what dogs do and thats bark.how would she like it if her spouse taped her mouth shut because he was tired of hearing her talk. i say YES!! she needs to serve some time and the dog should be taken away.
Sharon Harris
Dec 2, 2015 at 8:11 am
Not only was her action mean, but then she boasted about it on social media. Yes, she should have consequences. And yes, take her animals away from her. She has a cruel streak that could pop up again at any time.
Star
Dec 2, 2015 at 8:08 am
Yes she should go to jail! Her animals should have be taken from her to. I don’t care that they were in good health, it’s obvious that their owner is not in good mental health. Who in their right mind would tape a dog’s mouth shut? And then brag about it on social media? She’s sick! She should not be allowed to care for any animals ever again.
Clare Choate
Dec 2, 2015 at 8:03 am
Unfortunately, I believe they must carry this out to the letter of the law because that is the only way to curb animal cruelty. If there aren’t any consequences, she will do it again. Poor judgement is poor judgment, but poor judgment with cruelty is intolerable.
Jessie
Dec 2, 2015 at 1:15 am
She should go to jail and not be allowed to own an animal ever again. She did this and posted it on social media, who knows what she does and doesn’t post. Any form of cruelty should warrant jail and no animals for the rest of her life. If this was a child, she would be locked up in a heartbeat, and her kids would be taken away. An animal is a life, and a precious one at that who doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
Lynn
Dec 2, 2015 at 1:06 am
Prosecute to the full extent of the law. She should not have any animals under her care because she obviously doesn’t care. You may want to consider a mental institution for her. Who would of sound mind, do that to a dog?
Amy
Dec 1, 2015 at 11:34 pm
She should have pets removed from home and not be allowed to have anymore!
Karen Hayward
Dec 1, 2015 at 11:16 pm
She should go to jail, receive a very large fine and never be allowed to have any kind of pet or contact with animals again!
Alice
Dec 1, 2015 at 10:21 pm
She should have all her pets taken away from her, be forbidden to ever adopt any animal again! She said the duct tape was only on the poor dog’s mouth a minute, that is a minute too much. Maybe she should have duct tape on her mouth for a minute? and see how she feels! It breaks my heart, that dog loves her unconditionally and this is how she treats it. Makes me so mad!!
Christine king
Dec 1, 2015 at 7:50 pm
She should go to jail major fine and no contact or ownership of any pets not even a bed bug period… Jail is not enough in my book
Nery Caraballo
Dec 1, 2015 at 6:18 pm
she should not be allowed to keep any animal and YES!!! she should do time in jail
Frances
Dec 1, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Having worked Animals Control in NC, the reality in NC is that she at most will get a fine and a tap on the wrist, maybe a bit of community service. She may or may not be banned from owning, possessing or having any animals if she gets a suspended sentence. But once that suspended sentence is up, so is the ban.
Is this right? NO, she should at least get a few days in jail and banned from owning animals for a period, and have to do community service in an animal shelter. I would hope that Shelters, HS, and other places that adopt do checks on potential adopters and she will never be allowed to adopt any animals.
The courts and DA’s are a bad joke. Once had a felony animal fighting case, all charged did a plea deal, down to misdemeanor cruelty and they basically walked out with a fine and court cost. At least they did not get the dogs back. Makes you sick. Or at least it did me.
Megan
Dec 1, 2015 at 5:41 pm
Jail time and animals removed!
Deb Hammond
Dec 1, 2015 at 5:30 pm
If we want to get more focus on animal cruelty then I believe she must serve jail time as anyone charged with cruelty should! Some people simply shouldn’t be allowed to have pets and she falls into that group of people!
Jennifer
Dec 1, 2015 at 4:51 pm
I’ve had many furry angels in my life & its a fact of life, they all bark. Its their nature, its how they speak… This woman should NOT be allowed to have ANY pets, especially the one she has already harmed & should be charged to the fullest extent of the law. Not only did she do this awful act, she advertised it for the world to see and judge. Therefore, she should not be surprised or upset that the world is disgusted by her lack of compassion, conscious or humanity…
Please, see that she is properly convicted, sentenced AND never allowed to harm any more animals… Take this precious dog away from her.
Betty Schultz
Dec 1, 2015 at 4:40 pm
She should go to jail and no pets for the rest of her life
Cooki saylor
Dec 1, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Yes she should spend no less than 6 months in hail and never be permitted to own another animal not seven a goldfish. People with her mentally are not. Safe to any animal or public. Her dogs and cat should beer removed and adopted to someone who would never harm them. Her son needs tho beer investaged too since he c thinks there was no harm done
brenda
Dec 1, 2015 at 3:50 pm
That bitch has no right to have an animal any where near her! She’s a cruel abusive rotten individual.
Barbie Olson
Dec 1, 2015 at 3:46 pm
Put her in jail and tape her mouth shut !!!!!! She does not need any animal.
Debbie
Dec 1, 2015 at 3:26 pm
Yes, I seriously feel that this woman should go to jail, and also for her to NEVER be allowed to own another dog, for the rest of her life. Im a dog lover, and what she did to her dog, makes me very angry, NO dog deserves that kind of treatment, I dont care what they did wrong.
Debbie
Dec 1, 2015 at 3:21 pm
I seriously feel that this woman should go to jail,And also should NEVER be allowed to own another animal for the rest of her life. I’m a dog lover and it makes me VERY angry, what she did to her dog, there is NO reason to do something like that to your pet, I DONT care what they did wrong, they dont dserve that kind of treatment.
nancy
Dec 1, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Have you ever owned a dog that won’t stop barking? You may feel like doing this also …… it’s legal to sell shock collars and muzzle! Whats with that? It doesn’t mean you love your dog any less and that you don’t take care of them…… sometimes you and your neighbors need some quiet time.
Debbie
Dec 1, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Yes, she should be charged with both offenses & be charged to the fullest extent of the law to include jail time. She should not be allowed to have any pets. The PUP depended on her & was defenseless to her actions. Quoting her: “POINT MADE”. Let’s she how she fares; maybe the judge will include taping her mouth shut.
Robby Squiers
Dec 1, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Yes , she should go to jail. Yes , she should loose her animals.Who knows what other horrors she’s visited upon these poor things.It’s time to take animal abuse seriously, if they can do this to a helpless pet, who knows what other horrid things they are capable of. There is a direct link to animal abuse and serial killers. This needs to stop NOW!
Dani
Dec 1, 2015 at 2:04 pm
Yes, she should spend some time in jail. Her dogs should be removed and adopted into homes that would never think of doing something like this. Yes, they are well cared for but that doesn’t mean she won’t do something like this again. She should also be forbidden from owning dogs in the future. Believing she did nothing wrong, and only upset because someone posted a picture of her truck on social media, shows (to me anyway) that she doesn’t care and the only thing she may have learned from all this is not to post cruelty pictures on her social network sites.
Donna Lewis
Dec 1, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Yes to at least one count, preferably two counts. The dog could not take a drink of water if it wanted to or a bite of food. Additionally, posting it on Facebook was just stupid. Too bad we don’t have laws against that sort of lack of common sense. I think her pets should be taken away from her because she has no common sense and would likely do it again.
Karen O'Donnell
Dec 1, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Posting the picture on Facebook was SADISTIC
Madeline St Onge
Dec 1, 2015 at 1:40 pm
I hate the thought that she is allowed to keep the dogs and she should spend time in jail and you right she should be charged on 2 counts
Diane Alexander
Dec 1, 2015 at 1:09 pm
Of course she should go to jail and lose the right to own pets. There are humane ways to convince a dog to stop barking. What she did was cruel.
Cathy
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Yes she should be charged with all counts just to get across the point that what she did was wrong. She apparently does not feel she did anything wrong and therefore has no remorse other then making the mistake of posting on social media which got her caught. However, she obviously seems to take good care of her dogs, which is good considering other people get away with the most heinous of cruelty! I think she should be made to attend classes in dog training the right way!
Stacey D.
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:52 pm
She should go to jail and spend her entire time there with her mouth duct taped shut. The tape should be wrapped all around her head. She can receive food through feeding tube if she even deserves to eat and NO she should not get to keep her pets or ever have any again!
Connie
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:52 pm
She should absolutely spend time in jail and definitely have her dog’s taken away. I can’t imagine ever doing something so cruel to my Bella. I would value what comes out of my dog’s rear more than this lady deserves to be valued
Deborah Oxley
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:50 pm
All her animals should be removed from her home and she should not be allowed to own any animal again. Her statement of “it was only on for 60 seconds” is irrelevant. There are proper and humane techniques in training a dog. Duct tape IS NOT one of them under any circumstances. I do believe she should be accountable for her actions according to the law in her state. Personally, it sickens me and breaks my heart.
Kerry Brunson
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:41 pm
She should be slapped with a HUGE fine, forced to pay for the dog’s care and also have all pets removed from her care. Not to mention be forbidden to purchase or otherwise adopt any animals for the rest of her life.
Tammy
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:39 pm
Would appear she’s been running up and down the East Coast from FL to CT since late last week desperately seeking a state that wouldn’t run her dumb ass up the river for her abusive action(s). Slap on the wrist by the beyond lenient laws of N.C. that obviously still consider dogs as livestock. But she still has to face the public whenever she decides to slither out from under that keg of beer.
shawn
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:33 pm
The issue for me and just me, is this. She did something to the pet to the living being that induced fear and confusion, that shuts off their normal breathing passage, that would hinder their ability to regulate their body heat but also cause issues with their sinus area, she did this. She states it was only meant for a joke, o only on for a minute, the thing is, you did this but then you took the picture of it, then you promoted the act by posting it online and you didnt see anything at all wrong with it, she actually felt it was something that was funny or fun or interestingly silly. So should she go to jail, I dont think so, but I dont think she should have the dog or any, she is immature and cant realize what is or isnt appropriate behavior to do to an animal.
Margaret cox
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Yes she should spend time in jail for taping her dogs mouth shut. No she shouldn’t be able to keep her pets. She’ll just do it again. She needs to pay the price for what she’s done.
karen
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Yes ahe should serve time and get her pets taken away! She donr deserve them
Patricia Rothfuchs
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:23 pm
They should tape her mouth shut with duck tape to keep her from talking,also jail time,but they will just slap her hand and tell her not to do it again!!! The law is there but they never seem to use it!!!!! Why?
Louise
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Personally I feel what she’s done appears out of character although I too reported her when I saw the photo. It’s not acceptable, for any length of time, to tape an animals mouth together and she made a foolish mistake BUT I feel the current charges are enough and she has shown, besides this one unfortunate error in judgement, to be a loving, caring owner normally. I feel she will have learnt from her mistake and will never do anything so stupid again, time to focus again on those deliberately harming animals, not on one woman’s lapse in commonsense.
Carol
Dec 1, 2015 at 12:15 pm
I think she should be held accountable for her stupidity and actions have consequences. Fine , jail and no longer should ever be allowed to have animals, don’t care if they looked healthy who knows what else she has done or will do