Missoula police took a man into custody Sunday evening after his girlfriend reported that he had tried to strangle her dog.  According to Public Information Officer Travis Welsh, Missoula resident Demien Whiteshirt got into a dispute with his girlfriend and decided to take his anger out on a ten-year-old beagle mix.

"Sounds like at some point in their argument she had left and when she came back she learned that he had locked the dog in the room," Welsh said. "He had gone in to quiet the dog or to check on him and found dog feces around the room and got angry and the report is he strangled the dog."

According to Welsh forty year old Demian Whiteshirt is currently in custody on felony charges and the dog is still recovering.

"Mr. Whiteshirt apparently took out some anger on her dog which resulted in some injuries which were treated at the hospital," Welsh said. "As I understand  [the injuries] are ongoing at this point. Aggravated animal cruelty is a felony, when certain conditions or elements are reached that passes it from that threshold of  a misdemeanor to a felony."

Welsh said that the dog initially was suffering from lung congestion after the strangulation.

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