Yakima County prosecutors have charged a Toppenish-area man with first-degree animal cruelty, alleging he strangled his estranged wife’s dog.
Anthony Leroy Curtis, 56, is also charged with harassment in connection with the Aug. 13 incident at his Germantown Road home.
A friend of Curtis’ wife told sheriff’s deputies that Curtis was texting his wife and threatening to hurt their dog if she did not come back to him, according to a probable cause affidavit. One of the texts included a photo of the dog dangling from a cord.
His wife said that Curtis told her he would torture the dog and kill it if she didn’t comply, the affidavit said.
“I thought you really loved your dog more than that,” one of the texts read, according to the affidavit.
Deputies who went to Curtis’ home found a black electrical cord that had been tied into a loop, but the dog appeared uninjured, the affidavit said.
Court records show Curtis has prior assault and reckless endangerment convictions in Yakima County District Court.
Curtis was booked into the Yakima County jail, but Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jared Boswell released him under the court’s pretrial release program, which requires him to regularly check in with court staff.
Boswell barred Curtis from having further contact with his wife and any animals.