Dog owner charged with cruelty | Crime

The owner of a husky-mix found wandering Deer Park with a collar embedded in his neck has been charged with second-degree animal cruelty and confinement in an unsafe manner Tuesday.

The dog, Nanook, was found Friday, Jan. 25 with a wound around its neck “consistent with a collar or cable being embedded over a long period of time,” according to Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service. Nancy Hill, executive director for SCRAPS, believes that Nanook was tied around the neck outside “most of the time,” indicating it was unlikely he was hardly ever let off of the tether.

Nanook's owner, Ray L. Lafountain claimed the dog and released it to SCRAPS. Nanook has been adopted by a Spokane resident who reached out through SCRAPS' volunteer network. Hill said Nanook's new owner “can work with the dog's special medical needs.”

“We encourage everyone to fence their yard rather than tethering a dog so this kind of injury doesn't happen,” Hill said.