Prosecutors have charged a woman with cruelty to animals after she allegedly killed her pet dog for pooping on the floor by chucking it off a balcony.
Maria Delairet, 37, reportedly flew into a fury after she came home in early March to find her pet dog Ava had soiled the floor of her Moscow apartment, a statement released Wednesday by the city's prosecutor's office said.
The woman is said to have grabbed the dog and thrown it off a fourth-floor balcony, with full "awareness of the cruel and sadistic nature of her actions," the statement said, adding other inhabitants of the building had witnessed the incident.
News portal Newsru.com identified Delairet as a known poet and artist.
Delairet was released from police detention pending her trial and has been ordered to stay in Moscow, the statement said.
If convicted, she could face up to six months in prison.
Russia rarely prosecutes people under its laws against cruelty to animals, except in a handful of cases involving intentional killings.
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