SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Southbridge man and woman have been arrested and charged for animal cruelty in the choking death of a dog.
Southbridge Police said that 58-year-old Jacqueline Baldina and 41-year-old Ryan S. Fisher were arrested on Wednesday, after police first began an investigation in August in collaboration with Southbridge Animal Control and the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
The person who sent in a tip about the pair reported that a man posted comments to his Facebook page claiming that he "choked his dog to sleep because sleeping pills didn't work."
After speaking with Baldina, the woman admitted that she gave the pills to her 12-year-old dog "Beau," adding that Fisher was alone in the room with the dog at some point the night he died.
Police said that Fisher later admitted to choking the dog after Baldina gave him the medication, and a Necropsy report found that the dog's cause of death was from trauma to his windpipe.
The two were arrested on warrants for cruelty to animals and driven to police headquarters, where Baldina was released on a cash bail of $540.
Fisher is currently being held at the Worcester County House of Correction on a bail of $2,500.
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(Photo: Southbridge Police Department)