Holly Boyd was found in her apartment bathroom.

​When news broke that Holly Boyd had killed her tiny Chihuahua puppy in a fit of anger, it sparked outrage from dog lovers across the globe. When she was sentenced to 45 days in jail, animal advocates cried foul yet again.

No matter how bad she may have seemed, Boyd's life has -- according to the Anoka County medical examiner's office -- come to a very early end.

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According to a Facebook group, this is one of Lowell Friday's horses.

​A horse boarder in East Bethel has been charged with 35 counts of animal cruelty stemming from years-long investigations by the Animal Humane Society into conditions at the man's ranch.

Five years ago, neighbors, former employees, and reporters took note of Lowell George Friday's emaciated-looking horse herd. But it's taken until now for formal charges to be handed down. They describe in detail the hellish-sounding conditions that Friday's 60-plus horses allegedly lived under.

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An unfortunate kitten (not this one, specifically) died after being kicked

​When Arlyn Alvin Groth got high on the designer drug plant food a few weeks ago in Winona, he apparently decided it was a good idea to wreak havoc on his kitten.

Police came to Groth's home in the 600 block of East Fourth Street, on a 911 call that there was an argument in the home. The cops found the house in a state of disarray, and the two-month-old kitten injured. Groth, 46, blamed the injury to the cat on a group of "burglars" who'd broken in. To prove the veracity of his story, Groth led the police to the bathroom and showed them the ceiling. That, he explained, is where those nasty thieves broke in.

That's right. The bathroom ceiling.

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Benjamin Stavaas is accused of slashing a dog's throat and leaving it to die.

​Benjamin Stavaas may just be the most heartless worm ever to grace a cell at the Otter Tail County jail, standing accused as he does of slitting the throat of a German Shepherd mix last June in Fergus Falls and leaving the wounded dog to die.

But Star the dog didn't die. And Stavaas was charged last July with two felony counts, two misdemeanors, and two gross misdemeanors related to the witless act of animal cruelty.

Then, instead of evidencing just a little remorse, and showing up for his appointed court date, he took off and got into more trouble.

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Screen grab via WISN

"Big Boy" had to be euthanized.

​The animal abuse stories out of Wisconsin just keep getting worse.

First we had Bryan Hutcherson of Oshkosh, who starved his pit pull to death because feeding it was just too stressful. Now we have an unnamed 13-year-old in Milwaukee being investigated for beating a little dog with a stick, dousing it with gasoline, and setting it on fire.

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The show will not go on.

​The "Elephant Extravaganza" is a goner and "Rocky" the 250-pound boxing kangaroo has suffered a TKO: The Piccadilly Circus has been denied a permit for its three-ring show at the Minneapolis Convention Center in May.

The issue, apparently, is that the circus owners ran afoul of some recent changes to the city's permitting process, which was put in place to make sure we don't host animal abusers and illin' beasts.

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Via Caring for Cats

Ophelia the cat, before she got beat up

​Reece Donahue is 23 years old and still hasn't learned the basic rule of being human: No matter how frustrated you are, it's not okay to throw animals around.

But that's just what Donahue, who wins the Douchebag of the Week award, did to poor Ophelia the cat.

St. Paul police found Ophelia hiding in the living room closet when they visited Donahue's apartment in St. Paul Saturday. Tufts of her fur were stuck to the ceiling, and blood was on her nose and mouth.

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Photo: Felinest

I can haz upheld conviction?

​An 11-year-old girl was out playing in her yard when she looked across the street and saw her beloved cat Sauki staggering toward her with an arrow sticking out of her stomach. Sauki was put down later at the vet.

The shooter was 22-year-old Ajalon Thomas Corcoran, who is now appealing his cat killing conviction to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Thing is, he totally admits offing Sauki.

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Donkey Basketball is the sport that's sweeping the nation.

​PETA is beseeching Fridley parents to cancel a Donkey Basketball fundraiser because the animal rights group considers it animal abuse.

Having never heard of the illustrious sport of "Donkey Basketball," I rushed to consult YouTube for some examples of this exciting new youth trend decades-old tradition.
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Image from Wikimedia

Ferrets: some people go to jail for them

​Scott DeMuth, the Minneapolis man accused of breaking into a ferret farm in Howard Lake, Minnesota, in 2006 and setting the little weasel-like animals free, pleaded guilty late yesterday.

In return, the 23-year-old DeMuth, a member of the Minneapolis-based group EWOK!--Earth Warriors are OK!--avoids a federal animal enterprise terrorism trial that would have started today. He faces up to six months in prison.

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