West VA Woman Faces Charges Of Animal Cruelty

By Greg Peppers

A West Virgina woman is facing charges of animal cruelty in Frederick, Maryland. Authorities say Cathryn Washington is facing four counts of animal cruelty after leaving her yellow Labrador Retriever in an overheated car on an afternoon when temperatures reached 104 degrees.

Washington later told her estranged husband that she ran into a Costco in Frederick to buy some pet food intending to be in the store for fifteen minutes or so. According to her husband Charles Washington, she returned to the car more than a hour later to find the dog clinging to life.

Mr. Washington says the dog later died in her arms but the exact time of the dog's death is unclear. After Mrs. Washington returned to the car investigators say she went back inside the store and returned the dog food, bedding and treats she had purchased and at that point authorities say she told Costco employees the dog was dead.