(WSVN) - Police in Georgia arrested the owner of a pet grooming store, accusing her of killing a dog by choking and kicking the animal.
Fox 5 reports that Cumming Police charged Michelle Root with felony animal cruelty after a dog named Meko reportedly died in her care.
According to the police report, a worker at Paw’sh Paws told officers they witnessed Root kicking the dog for running to the back of the store.
That’s when the witness said Root choked the dog to the point of unconsciousness, then dragged Meko to the front of the store, banging the dog’s body against a washing machine and other objects.
A friend of the dog’s owner came to pick Meko up, only to rush the dog to an animal hospital when he saw the dog’s condition.
The police report says Root and her husband told the man the dog “must have had a seizure.”
Upon taking Meko to an animal hospital, veterinarians pronounced the dog dead, and said he had been deceased anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes before being brought in.
Another witness came forward to police two days later, saying Meko had been compliant while being washed and did not appear to be misbehaving. She told officers she saw Root kick Meko in the head, and bounced the dog off a wall and tub before slamming him on a table.
Both witnesses told police it was not the first time they saw Root abuse an animal.
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