Loretta Bozeman, 41, faces a first-degree misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.
Bozeman was cited by police in August after posting a picture in which a brown and white Chihuahua apparently “is being tormented” by two young girls in the back of a vehicle, according to Springfield Police Department reports.
Attempts to contact Bozeman for this report were unsuccessful; however, court records indicate she has been assigned a defense attorney and is moving toward a trial on the charges.
Members of Bozeman’s family received hundreds of threats to their personal safety after the widespread dissemination of the pet picture, which started out as a post on Bozeman’s Facebook page.
The picture, which drew ire from around the country, depicts two young girls in a vehicle who have fashioned a pulley system through a clothes hanging latch with a jump rope. On one end of the rope are the two young girls who appear to be laughing playfully, while on the other end of the rope is a small dog dangling by its haunches.
Family members have since reached out to media outlets to clarify that the girls were re-enacting an animal rescue from a TV show.
However, Bozeman was cited by Springfield Police with a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals after the picture was reported to Bay Animal Control, and two of Bozeman’s dogs were taken into custody.
(The News Herald - Jan 8, 2015)
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