PANAMA CITY — A Springfield grandmother who was cited for animal cruelty after posting an inflammatory picture on Facebook is continuing her legal struggle against the charges, according to court documents.
Loretta Bozeman, 41, faces a first-degree misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.
Bozeman was cited by police in August after posting a picture in which a brown and white Chihuahua apparently “is being tormented” by two young girls in the back of a vehicle, according to Springfield Police Department reports.
Attempts to contact Bozeman for this report were unsuccessful; however, court records indicate she has been assigned a defense attorney and is moving toward a trial on the charges.
Members of Bozeman’s family received hundreds of threats to their personal safety after the widespread dissemination of the pet picture, which started out as a post on Bozeman’s Facebook page. The picture, which drew ire from around the country, depicts two young girls in a vehicle who have fashioned a pulley system through a clothes hanging latch with a jump rope. On one end of the rope are the two young girls who appear to be laughing playfully, while on the other end of the rope is a small dog dangling by its haunches.
Family members have since reached out to media outlets to clarify that the girls were re-enacting an animal rescue from a TV show.
However, Bozeman was cited by Springfield Police with a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals after the picture was reported to Bay Animal Control, and two of Bozeman’s dogs were taken into custody.
The family received more than 500 death threats and threats to their personal safety through social media websites, according to officials. Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne urged public civility in the ensuing firestorm of pro-animal reactions.
Some residents heeded the suggestion and wrote Circuit Judge Shane Vann, who is overseeing the case, in hopes of keeping Bozeman from regaining custody of the animals.
“If it is within your judgment, please do not release any of the dogs to her care,” wrote one resident. “Allow them to be placed in loving homes that are financially stable and hopefully model respect for all living things.”
Court records are unclear whether the animals were returned to Bozeman.
Bozeman is scheduled for a trial management hearing in February.