Woman wrapped bungee cords around dogs' muzzles to stop their barking, police say



ANKENY, Iowa - An Iowa woman is facing animal neglect charges after police say she used bungee cords to tie her dogs' muzzles in an attempt to keep them from barking.

A criminal complaint says 27-year-old Elisa Andres went to the Animal Rescue League on October 2nd and surrendered three of her dogs. The ARL staff noticed there were ligature marks around two of the dogs’ muzzles. They say the dogs were dropped off in a wire kennel that had bungee cords attached to it and the marks on the dogs matched the dimensions of the cords, according to WHO.

After the ARL notified Ankeny Police, officers interviewed Andres who admitted her landlord had forced her to surrender the dogs because of barking complaints. Police say they’d received 10 different barking complaints at Andres’ address since December of 2017.

The complaint says Andres “did knowingly and unlawfully tie bungie cord cables around 2 of her dogs’ muzzles in order to keep them from barking, causing unnecessary pain and mutilation to the dogs’ muzzles.”

Andres was arrested October 4th and has been charged with two counts of animal neglect. She has pleaded not guilty and her trial is scheduled for November 8th.

The Animal Rescue League is now caring for the dogs, who they have named Maddy and Beau.

“The dogs are now safe and are still fearful of people, but we are helping them to trust again,” said Tom Colvin, CEO for the ARL.