No jail time for woman found guilty of taping her dog's mouth shut

A woman who taped her dog's mouth shut was found guilty of animal cruelty Friday, ABC 11 reports. 

The woman, Katharine Lemansky, posted the photo to Facebook in November with the caption, "This is what happens when you dont shut up!!!" 

The post immediately received backlash from animal lovers and activists on social media. (Lemansky went by the name Katie Brown on Facebook when she posted the photo.)

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The 45-year-old woman was charged by Cary, North Carolina police with one count of Class 1 Misdemeanor Cruelty to Animals, which could have landed her up to 150 days in jail.

Lemansky pled not guilty to the charges in court on Friday, however the judge found her guilty. 

“This is one of those cases where a picture’s worth a thousand words," District Judge Jackie Brewer said in court, according to the News & Observer.

Lemansky will not serve any time behind bars as an initial 60-day jail sentence was reduced to 12 months of supervised probation, the newspaper reports. She was, however, ordered to pay court fees, according to WNCN. 

In court, an animal control officer said Lemansky admitted to taping the dog's mouth shut because it was barking. The officer also says Lemansky did not mean to post the photo to Facebook, she meant to send it to her son. 

Lemansky says the incident was a joke that got out of hand, and the animal control officer says the dog was not afraid of Lemansky and was well cared for. Lemansky says she taped the dog's mouth for 15 to 20 seconds, according to ABC 11. 

The police decided in November that Lemansky would be able to keep the dog.

A Change.org petition that was started shortly after the incident received over 38,000 signatures in support of prosecuting Lemansky.