Animal Cruelty Charges Filed After Puppy Tossed Out Window On I-694

RAMSEY COUNTY, MN — A woman faces animal cruelty charges in Ramsey County after police said she tossed a puppy out of a window during a police chase in January.

Raylean Chastity Gurneau, 26, was charged Monday with fleeing police in a motor vehicle and four counts of animal cruelty, the Star Tribune reported.

At around 11 p.m. on Jan. 30, deputies said they were in pursuit of carjacking suspects driving away in a stolen vehicle.

During a chase, the suspects started driving down the wrong way on Interstate 694 in Arden Hills, according to police. At one point, someone in the car threw out an unidentified "white object" from one of the passenger doors, authorities said.

The white object hit the freeway and rolled while in the lanes of traffic, according to deputies.

A deputy eventually stopped the suspect vehicle using a PIT maneuver. Two women in the vehicle were arrested, KSTP reported, but two men fled from the vehicle and are still at large.

During a review of squad camera footage, deputies learned that the white object thrown onto the interstate was a puppy.

The following morning, authorities found the puppy hiding amid subzero temperatures in a snowbank on the side of the interstate. He was located only about 50 yards from where he was thrown, investigators said.

The puppy — less than a year old — was rushed to an emergency veterinarian with a broken leg and other injuries. He is now in the foster care of Ramsey County deputies, who named him "Taho."

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Foundation is accepting donations to cover Taho's ongoing medical costs.

"Taho will remain in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office and be fostered by one of our dog-loving employees," the agency said on Facebook. "And, if you’re wondering about the pizza box, deputies offered Taho a slice to help keep him calm."