MURRAY, Utah, June 22, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Murray woman has been charged with ‘torturing a companion animal’ after police found an injured puppy in her care.
Alexis Marie Callen, 19, was charged with the third-degree felony on Tuesday after the dog was taken to Cottonwood Animal Hospital by a rescue organization who had had seen photos of the puppy, named Shadow, on social media.
A Murray Police officer responded to Callen’s address, the probable cause statement says, where Callen “… admitted that she intentionally and knowingly had placed her elastic hair tie around the dog’s snout for a period of 48 hours in hopes to keep the dog quiet from excessive whining.
“Alexis had sole custody of the companion animal,” the statement says. “Alexis acted in a heinous and cruel manner by inflicting an extreme amount of physical pain to the 3-month-old companion animal (black Labrador mix type dog). Alexis denied the dog essential care by refusing to seek veterinarian care.”
Celestial Zoo, the rescue agency, is asking anyone who would like to donate funds for Shadow’s surgery to find out how by clicking here.
Unrelated case
A further check of court records revealed an unrelated arrest of Callen on April 23 of this year on a charge of endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony, and on misdemeanor drug charges.
The charges were filed after a welfare check on the infant of Callen and Matthew Lloyd, 20. Officials judged the 7-month-old child to appear small and malnourished. The apartment was judged to be dirty, and to smell of marijuana.
Callen and Lloyd both admitted to smoking marijuana in the apartment while the baby was present, a probable cause statement says.
The two face identical charges of child endangerment, a third-degree felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor; and use of possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
“A few feet away from the baby was marijuana and various accouterments of drug paraphernalia,” the statement says.
That case has not yet gone before a judge.
