SLIDELL, La. – A Slidell woman whose Facebook post of her ex-boyfriend choking her dog went viral, has the 3-year-old Doberman, Ruby Jean, safely back at home after Slidell Police Department arrested Shane Mitchell and retrieved the dog.
Slidell Police announced the arrest on the department’s Facebook page Tuesday, but didn’t give details on the charges. Nevertheless, a Facebook post later in the day said the charge was animal cruelty.
The woman, Rachelle Fassy, said that the incident took place on Sunday morning, Mother’s Day. She had ended what she described as a very bad relationship, she said, and had moved into her own place when Mitchell showed up at her new home, nola.com reported.
She said she let him in because he was threatening her, but he grabbed the dog’s leash and wouldn’t give her back.
What happened next was caught on Fassy’s Ring doorbell video, but has since been disabled after posting on Facebook. It was reported that Mitchell was seen, with the dog, ringing the door bell, and Fassy’s voice can be heard telling him, “I called the cops.”
Mitchell replied, “I don’t care,” and then the video shows him yanking up on the dog’s leash, choking the animal, as Fassy is heard screaming and crying, “No, no, stop.”
She says now that she had not, in fact, called police at that point.
“I didn’t call (police) until later that day,” she said. “He kept telling me (he) would bring her back. But by Mother’s Day night, I just knew I wasn’t getting her back. She was basically being held for ransom, because I didn’t want to be with him.”
She said Mitchell had never done anything like that to the dog before, reported nola.
After initially being frustrated with the pace of the investigation, Fassy thanked the Slidell Police Department for recovering her dog. She said Tuesday that she had been impatient and that the police had to follow legal channels.
“I want to personally thank each and everyone of y’all who made every attempt to lead me to my ruby!” she posted of Facebook. “I esp want to give my biggest thank you to the Slidell police department for retrieving my dog and everyone that helped bring her back in the matter! Praying and having faith came a long way! Ruby is with me! We are headed home! Thankful no one was hurt anymore than what was!”
Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said, “I was sick to my stomach watching that video. How someone can do hurt a defenseless animal is beyond me. I had the opportunity to meet Rubyjean this afternoon, and she was as sweet and well-mannered as could be. We are glad this had a happy ending for both the dog and her owner.”
