Montana man charged with getting small dog drunk

Montana man charged with getting small dog drunk

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man is charged with animal cruelty after his 20-pound dog was found so intoxicated it couldn’t stand up.

Todd Harold Schrier, 49, was charged after East Helena police responded to a report of an intoxicated dog at a bar on March 1. Officers found Arly II, a Pomeranian or Pomeranian cross that couldn’t walk, the Independent Record reported today.

Court records say an intoxicated person who claimed part ownership of Arly told officers that Schrier had given the dog about a “to-go cup of vodka.”

Police took Arly II to a veterinarian, where the dog’s blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.348 percent. An alcohol level of 0.4 percent can be fatal in humans.

“I had never seen a dog with acute alcohol poisoning,” said veterinarian Michelle Richardson, who has been practicing for 20 years.

She said she was aware of cases in which dogs ate vodka-laced Jell-O shots or lapped up beer from cups at a barbecue, but had never seen a case of intentional intoxication.

“I hope it’s rare,” Richardson said.

The dog survived.