Kimberly Howell, Woman Who Posted Photo of Dog Bound in Duct Tape, Found Guilty of Animal Abuse

A North Carolina woman was found guilty for taping her dog’s mouth shut and posting them on Facebook. The pictures drew widespread backlash on social media.

Kimberly Ann Howell, 25, was charged with animal cruelty in October for taping the dog’s mouth shut, WBTV reported. 

Howell is not the same woman who posted photos of her dog with its mouth taped shut about a week ago, which was captioned: “This is what happens when you dont shut up!!!” That woman, Katie Brown of Florida, was arrested this week, according to local reports.

In the case of Howell, she wrote, “LOL” and “ha ha.” The pictures were then sent to the Rowan Sheriff’s Office.

Judge Kevin Eddinger sentenced Howell, of Rowan County, to 18 months of probation. She will also get a 45 day suspended sentence and 36 hours of community service.

Howell offered several explanations as to why she taped the dog’s mouth shut, saying she was joking at the time. But she indicated the dog was barking and biting.

“I warned her,” Howell wrote along with the photos, reported WNCN. “I told her I was going to teach her not to bite the baby again even play biting.”

Howell said she didn’t leave the tape on for even five minutes and said she removed the tape after posting the pictures.

“It didn’t hurt her, she just didn’t like it,” Howell added in court.

Famed dog trainer Sam Basso weighed in on the viral phenomena of duct taping dogs’ mouths shut. 

“The dog will panic, start breathing harder, desperately scratch at it’s face to remove the tape, and ultimately suffocate to death, or will be brain injured and have to be euthanized,” he wrote. “If the dog survives, the tape won’t have taught the dog anything, and so the barking problem will continue. Taping doesn’t ever work, it is cruel, and it is illegal.”