Puppy unhurt after being thrown, kicked

SANDPOINT — A Priest River woman accused of slamming a puppy to the ground in order to teach it a lesson is pleading not guilty.

Megan Ranae Smith’s plea sets the stage for a jury trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court. A trial date has not been set yet, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.

Smith, 23, is charged with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor.

The charge stems from an incident witnessed by a sheriff’s deputy at a Priest River convenience store on Oct. 6. Deputy Kimberly Kempton said in her report that she was stationary in her patrol vehicle when she saw Smith reach into the rear window of a vehicle and withdraw a puppy.

Kempton reported seeing Smith raise the dog over her head with both hands and forcefully throwing it onto the parking lot outside Mac’s Gas & Grocery. Smith also allegedly kicked and punched the dog, a probable cause affidavit said.

Smith told the deputy she was discipling the dog for chewing on a fishing rod inside the car and was unaware she had done anything wrong, the affidavit said. A 7-year-old girl who was with Smith was visibly upset over the puppy’s mistreatment, so much so that her father had to come to the scene to pick her up and console her, according to court documents.

The condition of the dog was not specified in court documents, although Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said the dog escaped injury.

“Deputy Kempton did a follow-up visit to the house and the puppy appeared to be happy and in good condition,” Marshall said.

A pretrial settlement agreement in the case is being proposed. In exchange for a plea of guilt, the state will recommend a suspended jail term, two days on the sheriff’s labor program and a year of unsupervised probation, according to court documents.

The proposed settlement agreement expires at Smith’s pretrial hearing.