Md. dog survives throw from 23-foot balcony

OWINGS MILLS, Md. - A Yorkshire terrier thrown from a balcony in Baltimore County has been released from an animal hospital.

County Health Department spokeswoman Monique Lyle said Wednesday that the three-year-old dog named Louie is recovering well and is now being cared for at the county animal shelter.

County police say Gary Wallace Jr., who is not the dog's owner, threw the dog about 50 feet from a 23-foot balcony at an Owings Mills townhouse on Sunday. A neighbor who saw Wallace throw something from the balcony and found the injured dog called police, according to CBS station WJZ in Baltimore, Maryland.

"She heard the object land with a thud and when she went over she found that it was a small dog," spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Police Department Elise Armacost said.

When found, Louie's eye was bruised and red, he was missing teeth, he had spinal injuries and was in a lot of pain, WJZ reported.

Wallace claims the dog fell, but police believe that the dog was tossed. He is being charged with animal mutilation and animal cruelty, and currently being held on $250,000 bond.

Because the dog is part of an investigation, Lyle says it's now in the county's custody. She says the owner also has about $600 in unpaid fines for nuisance cases and licensing violations.