Woman Caught On Video Kicking, Choking Dog In Tarpon Springs

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — A 26-year-old woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty after being caught on video kicking and choking her dog.

Tarpon Springs Police arrested Michelle A. Sieber after seeing a video posted on Facebook by Vincent Minutello who filmed the encounter between Sieber and her dog in the 800 block of Dodecanese Boulevard on Friday around 10:45 a.m.

Minutello was dropping off his girlfriend, who works in the vicinity, when he spotted Sieber mistreating the dog and began videotaping the woman's actions.

The investigating officers viewed the video and saw Sieber walking the dog on a leash and then kicking the dog and lifting up on the leash to the point that the dog's front paws were lifted off the ground, causing the dog to choke and gasp for air.

Police said the dog had done nothing to cause Sieber to mistreat it.

Minutello's girlfriend said she saw Sieber throw the same dog against her vehicle Thursday around 7:30 p.m. in the same area.

Sieber is transient and lives in a camper-style vehicle with two dogs. She was located in Clearwater Friday afternoon where she was arrested.

The two dogs are in the custody of Pinellas County Animal Services.