[1]The 5-month-old German shepherd is expected to make a full recovery. / Courtesy photo by The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An intoxicated 19-year-old Lewis County resident was jailed after he allegedly punched a 5-month-old German shepherd in the face and – his family said – may have thrown it against a tree.
A sheriff’s deputy called about 12:45 a.m. today to a home on Oyler Road in Ethel was told Jesse Pegram was out of control and had beaten the family pet.
Pegram was agitated when he was found outside in the street and asked to be arrested, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He said he needed help, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
The dog needed help too.
The puppy suffered injuries to her face and was limping, according to Brown. Her eye was extremely swollen and blood shot, Brown said.
The family had no transportation to take to the animal to be seen, so the deputy contacted a veterinarian who agreed to meet the deputy at the clinic and do an examination, according to Brown.
The doctor found it had a leg injury and apparent head trauma, but no obvious broken bones, according to Brown.
Pegram was checked out at the hospital before being booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree animal cruelty, according to the sheriff’s office.
Brown didn’t say what the teenager was upset about.
But the vet, at Cascade Veterinary Hospital in Centralia, was optimistic the puppy would make a full recovery, Brown said.