Woman is charged for beating puppy

SANDPOINT — A Priest River woman was arraigned Friday for spiking a puppy and beating it.

Megan Ranae Smith is charged with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor.

The charge stems from an alleged attack on a puppy outside Mac’s Gas & Grocery on Oct. 6, which was witnessed by a Bonner County sheriff’s deputy.

Deputy Kimberly Kempton noted in her report that she was parked at the convenience store when she saw three young women walking to a parked Honda Civic. One the subjects, later identified as Smith reached into the rear passenger side of the car and withdrew a black-and-white puppy, the report said.

“She lifted the puppy up over her head and slammed it hard against the asphalt parking lot,” Kempton recalled in her report.

Smith allegedly kicked and pummeled the puppy as Kempton intervened.

Smith, 23, told the deputy the dog chewed up a fishing pole and she was trying to teach the animal a lesson, Kempton’s affidavit said. Kempton advised Smith it is a crime in Idaho to beat a dog.

The beating brought Smith’s companions, which included a 7-year-old girl, to tears, court documents indicate.

The puppy is a 7-month-old of unspecified breed.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Lori Meulenberg appointed a public defender to represent Smith, court records show. A pretrial hearing and jury trial are pending.

A first-offense animal cruelty charge in Idaho is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to Idaho Code. The penalties increase if there are successive violations.

A pretrial settlement agreement in the case is pending.

If Smith pleads guilty as charge, Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Katie Murdock is offering to recommend a 10-day jail sentence with eight days suspended and two days converted to eight hours on the sheriff’s labor program, court records indicate.

The offer expires at the first pretrial conference in the case.