ST. PAUL, Neb. (KSNB) – A St. Paul woman is on probation in connection with the drowning death of a dog whose legs were zip-tied and thrown into an irrigation ditch.
Court records show a judge Wednesday sentenced Sadie Miller, 29, to two years probation for misdemeanor abandonment and cruel neglect of an animal. She had originally been charged with felony cruelty to an animal but that charge was reduced in a plea bargain.
Court records show Miller’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Joshua Balcom of St. Paul, zip-tied a black lab’s legs together and then threw the dog into an irrigation ditch near Cushing, a village in Howard County. The dog was found drowned to death July 16, 2024, about a mile downstream.
An affidavit indicates Balcom and Miller got the dog about a week before. Miller told a sheriff’s deputy that the dog killed some chickens, so she and Balcom killed the dog.
Balcom was convicted in January of misdemeanor animal neglect. He had originally been charged with felony animal cruelty resulting in death but that charge was dropped in a plea bargain. Balcom will be sentenced May 28. The max penalty for animal neglect is a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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