Texarkana teen arrested after photo of hanging puppy goes viral

A 15-year-old girl has been arrested on a felony charge of animal cruelty with intentional torture for allegedly hanging a puppy from a door knob.

The teen, who is from Texarkana, Ark., was arrested Thursday by animal control officers and Texarkana, Ark., Police Officers, and is being held in the Miller County Juvenile Detention Center, said Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Director Charles Lokey.

The puppy survived the ordeal and was expected to be released from a veterinarian's care on Friday, Lokey said.

"The puppy is going to be fine, thank goodness,and this girl is in custody and will hopefully get some help," Lokey said.

The teen suspect is not the dog's owner, Lokey said. However, the teen was watching the dog with the owner's permission when the incident happened. The teen allegedly told police the puppy had been chewing on clothing items and that resulted in the incident.

The teen suspect took photos of the puppy hanging from the door and posted them on social media Tuesday, Lokey said.

"Tuesday afternoon we were notified of a social media post of a dog being hung from a doorknob. We started looking into it and found it had happened in Texarkana just before it was posted," Lokey said. "We made contact and through the statements and evidence obtained a felony arrest warrant."

The girl was arrested after school on Thursday.

The dog, a chihuahua and terrier mix who is about five or six months old, was treated at a local veterinarian's office.

"She was treated and seems to be doing well. She will be released back to the owner," Lokey said.

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