Dog suffocated Franklin Square, NY (US)Incident Date: Monday, Sep 5, 2011 County: Nassau
Charges: Felony CTA Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Nicole Ottaiano
Police arrested a Long Island woman for allegedly suffocating a friend's dog with hair ties.
Nassau County police charged Nicole Ottaiano, 20, of Oyster Bay with aggravated cruelty to animals.
Police say the dog, an 11-year-old Stafford Shire Terrier named Little, was found not breathing about 8:45 p.m. on Monday night in a Franklin Square home.
They say the homeowner saw Ottaniano placing hair ties over the snout of one of his other dogs, Jackpot, an 11-year-old Sheppard mix while they were playing on the bed.
Police say the owner told her to remove them and not put anything around the dog's snout. He later left the room to go to a different part of the house.
When he returned 20 minutes later, police say, he found her on top of a blanket on the bed. His dog, Little, was under a blanket and not breathing. He had two hair ties around his snout. He removed them and tried, unsuccessfully, tried to revive the dog.
He called the police who arrested and charged Ottaiano with aggravated cruelty to animals.
She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment yesterday and her bail was set at $5,000.
Police said she has a history of trying to hurt animals. References |