Woman arrested for allegedly killing dog by locking it in car to ‘punish’ it
Police claimed they had to break window to retrieve pet named Chapo
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A woman in Ohio has been arrested after police say she locked her dog in a car to “punish” him, causing the animal to die.
The Sandusky Police Department said in a report that Mouheb Ashakih, 58, is being held in the Erie County Jail on a cruelty to animals charge following an alleged incident on Saturday.
According to the police report, Ms Ashakih is accused of putting her dog, named Chapo, inside her car located at the back of her driveway, which was parked behind a fence.
Police were called to the woman’s residence by a concerned neighbour who allegedly saw Ms Ashakih “pick up Chapo and throw him into the back seat of her sedan.”
“He stated that he became aware the dog was inside the car when he and his wife heard dogs barking next door,” the report said.
The neighbour reportedly said he observed the dog “tearing up the inside of the vehicle and it appeared he wanted out.”
The man then went over to Ms Ashakih’s window and said she should let the dog out to which she allegedly replied: “I don’t care. I want him to die.”
The neighbour then made contact with the police and when they arrived they spoke with the woman and went to check on the dog, who was observed to have been unconscious.
“Due to no movement observed in the vehicle, officers immediately rushed up to it after climbing over the fence,” the police report says. Police said they broke the window to obtain access to the car.
The report said: “After opening the door through the broken window, the dog was observed to not be breathing and showed no signs of life.”
Police stipulated that the temperature of the vehicle was said to have been 81 degrees and that all of the windows remained closed.
The report says that at this time, the pet would have been in the vehicle for 30 minutes.
“Ms Mouheb began screaming upon observing her canine and begged us to break her car window,” police said.
After the pet was retrieved, authorities said it had already died. A two-year-old dog and three six-month-old puppies were taken from the home.
Ms Ashakih is being held without bond on a charge of felony animal cruelty. The woman is said to be due in court on Monday.
The dog’s remains were secured at the Dog Warden’s office, pending the investigation.