A woman who admitted to biting her dog in the face to discipline the puppy has been charged with animal cruelty, according to court documents obtained by the Daily News.
Jilian Teixeria, 24, who lives in the Bronx, was arrested Saturday in front 150 E 86th St. on Manhattan’s Upper East Side around 7:15 p.m. after a witness said they saw her sink her teeth into the brown pit bull and grab its ears so hard that the dog was bleeding and screaming in pain, police said.
When officers responding to a 911 call confronted Teixeria, she reportedly admitted to nagging her pet and said, “That’s what I do. I bite my dog,” according to police.
Teixeria told police she bites her dog to discipline her and asked, “What would you rather I do? Hit her?” Teixeria said, according to police. Teixeria also told police her pet was bleeding because it had eczema, police said.
She was arrested without incident.
On Monday, Teixeria was charged with one count of torture and injury to an animal, according to court documents.
Despite only being charged with a misdemeanor, prosecutors requested that Teixeria be held on bail, noting numerous failures to appear in court in previous cases across the city, including an open shoplifting and assault case.
According to court documents, Teixeria allegedly threw an ice cream container at a supermarket manager who accused her of stealing and hit him in the right eye in April 2023.
Teixeria’s next court appearance is August 30.
The dog was taken to an animal hospital for treatment, according to police.