Pittsburgh police arrested a “heavily intoxicated” woman on the North Side for stuffing a puppy into a suitcase and zipping the bag closed.
Jayme White, 56, remained Monday in the Allegheny County Jail on $1,000 bail, court records show. Her home address was not listed in court records.
Pittsburgh police were dispatched around 11:50 p.m. Thursday to the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood, where a woman was “actively beating a puppy,” according to a criminal complaint.
Officers said they found White walking near Avery Street and Cedar Avenue.
White told police she was carrying a puppy in her suitcase, the complaint said. The bag “was entirely closed with no way for the dog to be able to breathe,” police wrote.
Police said White appeared intoxicated and yelled at officers “for no reason.”
Officers checked on the dog, which did not appeared to be injured, the complaint said. White was released.
A witness on Avery Street later told police he saw White “getting angry with the dog” and hitting it multiple times, the complaint said.
Officers said they again stopped White at a different intersection nearby. She told police she bought the dog that day, the complaint said. A bystander at a bus stop told police White was attempting to sell the animal.
White removed the puppy from the suitcase and “it hastily walked away from her,” the complaint said.
When asked, White “could not give a clear answer” about where she was staying, the complaint said. She continued “to yell and scream for no reason” as she walked down Pressley Street.
Officers arrested White and found in her purse five packages of suboxone, a drug that treats opioid use disorder, and an open bottle of alcohol, the complaint said. White could not produce a prescription for the medication.
Officers took the male puppy, which they said had a small open sore on one of its paws, to the Zone 1 police station.
City animal care officers later picked up the dog at the station and brought him to a Humane Animal Rescue location in the city, Cara Cruz, a police spokeswoman, told TribLive.
He likely will be put up for adoption “once deemed healthy,” Cruz said.
“Once he was given water, he drank a large amount, showing he was likely dehydrated,” Cruz said. “He was otherwise in good spirits and played with a ball in the station.”
Humane Animal Rescue did not respond Monday to calls seeking comment.
Police charged White with cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct and drug possession and issued four summonses, including one for public drunkenness.
White was taken to jail. An attorney for her was not listed Monday in court records.
