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SALT LAKE CITY — A Murray couple accused of tying their puppy's snout shut for days because they were tired of its whining has been charged.
Matthew Eugene Lloyd, 20, and Alexis Marie Callen, 19, were charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a class A misdemeanor.
The investigation began when a woman saw a post on the Facebook page Puppies and Dogs in Utah from someone wanting to find a new home for her puppy, Shadow. The dog owner claimed Shadow was "hurt badly and ... she could not afford to pay for the veterinarian bills," according to charging documents.
On June 17, the woman took possession of Shadow and took the dog to Cottonwood Animal Hospital. A vet found "tissue damage caused by a sort of elastic hair band or thin rope tied tight enough to cause injuries" to the dog's snout, the charges state. The wounds were already "trying to heal for at least a week to 10 days" and the dog would likely need plastic reconstructive surgery, according to charging documents.
A West Jordan police officer was able to determine that Callen had made the Facebook post using an alias, the charges state. When interviewed by police, Callen said she purchased Shadow as an emotional support animal because of PTSD. She then made up a story about visiting a relative in another state and leaving the dog in the care of another woman while she was gone, the charges state.
Callen claimed when she returned home from her trip, the dog was injured. But when both Callen and Lloyd were pressed about who the alleged caretaker was, they could not provide any information about the woman, according to charging documents.
After confronting her with her inconsistent stories, Callen admitted to police "that she needed a break from Shadow and placed her hair tie around his snout," the charges state.
Callen said Shadow attacked her cat and that the hair tie was on no longer than 48 hours, according to charging documents. Lloyd also stated "that they just needed a break from Shadow's whining."
The veterinarian determined Shadow "had been suffering these injuries longer than two days," the charges state.
