Police say a woman was jailed after she allegedly struck a small dog in the head with a board, blinding it.
Tairon J. Luster, 22, was arguing with the neighbor Saturday in Pittsburgh when she hit the 20-pound miniature American Eskimo with a 2-by-4 while it was on a leash in the yard, authorities said.
"She couldn't get to me so she whacked him as hard as she could," Rosalyn Reed told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The neighbors have been feuding for more than a year, Reed said.
Reed said the 9-year-old dog, Saki, can't see and can hardly walk, but she hopes it will survive.
Luster is charged with simple assault, cruelty to animals, criminal mischief and illegal drug and weapons counts, after police found two loaded handguns, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her house.
According to online court records, Luster was unable to post $25,000 bond and was being held at Allegheny County Jail. No attorney was listed on court papers, and she couldn't be reached for comment.
Reed couldn't initially pay for medical care and brought the dog home despite a veterinarian's advice to have him euthanized. But over the weekend Animal Advocates, a nonprofit animal welfare organization, raised more than $5,000 in donations to help with Saki's medical bills.
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"He's going to be able to get all the care he couldn't when we went to the emergency room," Reed said. "I'm just really, really, really happy about that."
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13.
