Woman Charged After Duct-Taping Dog's Muzzle

A woman who sparked outrage on social media after posting a picture of her chocolate labrador with its muzzle taped shut has been charged with cruelty to animals.

Katharine Lemansky, from Cary, North Carolina, posted the photo on her Facebook page on Friday, alongside a caption which read: "This is what happens when you don't shut up!!!"

The original post was later taken down, but not before it was shared hundreds of thousands of times on the social media site and generated angry comments from people concerned about the welfare of the dog - which is called Brown.

On Monday, Cary Police tracked Lemansky down after a search covering three states and charged her with one count of misdemeanour cruelty to animals after she admitted the incident had taken place in the city.

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Captain Randall Rhyne said in a statement: "Taping the dog's muzzle shut was a terrible decision on Ms Lemansky's part, and charging her with animal cruelty under North Carolina law was the right thing to do.

"At the same time, it's important to also note that our animal control officers who physically examined both Brown and her littermate found the dogs to be very well cared for, which is why we did not and could not remove them from the owner."

He added that there were no signs of injury to Brown's muzzle.

Lemansky, who lists her name as Katie Brown on her Facebook page, posted a number of comments after putting the photograph on the website.

She wrote: "Don't panic everyone it was only for a minute but hasn't barked since ... POINT MADE!!!"

On Saturday, she added: "I don't know what a****** did thr b******* of posting my truck on line... When I figure it out you are done!!!!"

Lemansky will appear in court on 14 December. She faces up to 150 days in jail.