An Athol woman was cited for misdemeanor animal cruelty after a Kootenai County sheriff's deputy found her border collar heeler mix in a vacant yard with its mouth duct-taped shut Wednesday morning. The deputy found the woman's unleashed dog at 30450 Railroad Street & Highway 54 after KCSD fielded an anonymous tip. A woman from across the street admitted to the officer that "Blue" was her dog and that she'd taped his mouth shut the previous day b/c she didn't want him biting a friend's two Pomeranians. The friend left between 10 and 11 o'clock the previous night. She told the officer that she hadn't taken the tape off the dog's mouth because it was difficult to get off. Also, she admitted that she had taped the dog's mouth before, insisting that the tactic was "better than it killing something." When the deputy advised her that it was not allright to tape the dog's mouth shut, the woman responded: "I know that."

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