--- description: William Leonard Dodson was charged with ill treatment of animals. title: Police Arrest Man in Case of Dog's Muzzle Taped Shut image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Police Arrest Man in Case of Dog's Muzzle Taped Shut by [Amy Jamieson / People](/author/people/) ## Amy Jamieson / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 10:05 PM CUT by [Amy Jamieson / People](/author/people/) ## Amy Jamieson / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 10:05 PM CUT Police have arrested a man in connection with the animal cruelty case [involving Caitlyn](http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20926997,00.html "undefined"), an adorable stray whose muzzle was taped shut last week. William Leonard Dodson was arrested on Monday and charged with ill treatment of animals-torture, according to Charleston’s [_Post and Courier_](http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150601/PC16/150609888/arrest-made-in-case-of-dog-found-with-muzzle-taped-shut "undefined"). The 15-month-old chocolate Staffordshire pup was found Wednesday in a North Charleston, South Carolina, neighborhood with black electrical tape wrapped around her muzzle, which trapped her tongue between her teeth painfully for several days. The Charleston Animal Society, which is currently caring for the dog, offered a $1,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the crime. The [Humane Society of the United States](http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press%5Freleases/2015/05/sc-reward-dog-cruelty-052915.html?credit=web%5Fid65490140 "undefined") also offered up to $5,000. Almost a week since she was discovered, Caitlyn seems to be making strides. “\[Caitlyn\] still has a long way to go in her recovery,” reads a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/CharlestonAnimalSociety/photos/a.10150156309831369.331394.81551561368/10153378070536369/?type=1&theater "undefined") from the animal society on Tuesday. “She still faces surgery to repair her lips and possibly her tongue!” [A fund](http://www.charlestonanimalsociety.org/tobys-fund "undefined") has been set up to help with Caitlyn’s medical costs. _This_ [_article_](http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20927645,00.html "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3906499/dog-animal-cruelty/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3906499/dog-animal-cruelty/"},"headline":"Police Arrest Man in Case of Dog's Muzzle Taped Shut","datePublished":"2015-06-02T22:05:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:20:39.032Z","description":"William Leonard Dodson was charged with ill treatment of animals","url":"https://time.com/3906499/dog-animal-cruelty/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Dog","South Carolina","Charleston","animal cruelty"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Jamieson / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3906499/dog-animal-cruelty/","name":"Police Arrest Man in Case of Dog's Muzzle Taped Shut"}}]}] ```