Fridley Police: Woman Threw 3 Pit Bull Puppies at Man Who Broke Her Nose

Fridley police have arrested a woman for throwing puppies at a man during a domestic dispute Wednesday in which he broke her nose.

The incidents happened at about 3:45 a.m. Wednesday outside an apartment in the 6400 block of Fifth Street NE, Fridley Police Lt. Mike Monsrud said.

As Monsrud described the incident, the couple was seated in a pickup truck when the man hit the woman, breaking her nose. The man then got out and was in front of the pickup when the woman picked up each of three week-old pit bull puppies from the seat next to her and threw them out the window at him.

The puppies appear to be unhurt, Monsrud said: a relative took custody of them when the police took the couple to jail, and a dog breeder has determined that they did not suffer injuries in the incident.

That means the woman is unlikely to face felony-level animal cruelty charges, Monsrud said. Instead, the city attorney may charge her with misdemeanor-level animal cruelty. Or the police detective investigating the case may opt to simply issue the woman a misdeanor citation.

The Anoka County Jail website shows both are behind bars Thursday afternoon. A sheriff's department spokesman said he had no record of charges against either person yet. Monsrud said he expected charges to be filed against the man at 4 p.m. Thursday. (He said Karl Newquist, Fridley's city attorney for criminal matters, did not yet have the woman's case.)

A year since last puppy-throwing
It's almost a year to the day since the last time a woman was arrested in Fridley for throwing a puppy—a very unusual crime, according to Anoka County prosecutors.

On March 24, 2011, Fridley police arrested Holly Boyd for throwing a Chihuahua puppy against a piece of furniture in her Fridley apartment. The rare felony animal-cruelty case drew coverage by international media outlets and courthouse picketing by animal-advocate protesters.

Boyd said she was upset from finding her boyfriend with another woman and off medication that helped control serious mental afflictions.

She was convicted in November 2011 but at her sentencing avoided jail time beyond what she had already served after her arrest.

Columbia Heights police in a new apartment in January 2012.