DALLAS - A woman was charged with mistreating an animal after law enforcement allegedly found a dog that was tied up outside and appeared to be starving.
Sheryl Klein, 49, of Dallas, South Dakota, was charged on Jan. 26 with mistreating an animal, stemming from a Jan. 19 incident in which a Gregory County sheriff's deputy arrived at the house to handle a domestic dispute and found a dog chained outside the house without food.
The outlines of the dog's bones were protruding from its skin, court documents state. The animal's food bowl was filled with snow, and the water in another bowl was frozen.
Klein allegedly said she fed the dog that morning, but there were no footprints in the snow near the animal. There were footprints in other areas of the yard, court documents state.
The deputy took the dog to the Rescues Unlimited shelter, where it was given a flea bath. The dog was later taken to a veterinarian for treatment of malnourishment.
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Klein was charged with neglect, abandonment or mistreatment of an animal, a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
