Woman charged for dog's dragging death

TURNERS FALLS, Mass. (WWLP) - A woman from Greenfield is facing animal cruelty charges, after police believe she drove about four miles with her leashed dog stuck to her vehicle.

Montague Police Sgt. Lee Laster told 22News that just before 5:00 Sunday morning, police received a report that a black dog was being dragged from the driver’s side of a car traveling on Third Street in Turners Falls. When police arrived in the area, they found a man and a woman coming out of a wooded area, where the body of a dog had been discarded.

According to Montague Police dispatch records sent to 22News, the woman is identified as Shylo Valego of Greenfield and the man is identified as Casey A. Aiken of Turners Falls.

According to Laster, the two had originally told police that they had simply found the dog dead in the road and wanted to remove it. They also said that they did not know who the animal’s owner was.

Police then examined the dog and the couple’s vehicle. Laster says that police believe that the dog’s leash was trapped in the vehicle’s driver’s side door as the woman drove from her Greenfield home into Turners Falls; a distance of about four miles.

Laster says the woman admitted the dog belonged to her but that she did not even know that it was outside her home.

Montague Police Sergeant Richard Suchanek told 22News that Vallego may indeed not have realized might she was dragging her dog. "It's very serious, any time involving an animal. They were appropriately charged," Suchanek said. He added that alcohol was found in the car. "It's accidental, but I think alcohol abuse is definitely involved."

Valego is being charged with cruelty to animals, obstruction of justice, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Aiken is charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact. Both have been summonsed to court.