PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Tarpon Springs woman is facing a cruelty-to-animals charge after police say she was seen kicking a dog in a parking lot after a video of the alleged act went viral.
- Michelle Sieber was seen throwing the dog, police say
The video also shows 26-year-old Michelle Sieber allegedly lifting the dog off the ground by its leash, which appears to choke the dog.
Tarpon Springs Police arrested the woman in this video, who was caught abusing this dog. Michelle Sieber, 26, now faces a felony animal cruelty charge. @bn9 #bn9pinellas pic.twitter.com/BfGvh7pnXy
— Tim Wronka (@TimWronka) September 21, 2019
The Tarpon Springs Police Department officers saw the video posted to Facebook and investigated on Friday.
The alleged incident happened on the 800 block of Dodecanese Boulevard in Tarpon Springs at around 10:45 a.m., after a witness dropped off his girlfriend at work and saw what happened.
"The suspect allegedly 'threw' the dog 'sideways' in a rough and aggressive manner into the suspect's vehicle," according to authorities in a news release.
In fact, according to police, the girlfriend allegedly saw Sieber and the dog the evening before.
Sieber apparently is a transient, living in her "camper-type vehicle" with two dogs, police stated.
She was charged with one county felony animal cruelty and booked into the Pinellas Jail.
The two dogs were taken by animal control and do not appear to have any injuries.