Dog trainer tells owner her pup died of heart attack, but she was abused, MN cops say
The owner of a dog training facility was arrested months after a dog died in his care, Minnesota deputies say.
The December arrest of Edward Erickson follows the July death of a German Wirehaired Pointer named Evie, the Kanabec County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement of probable cause.
“Evie’s death will be known, she didn’t deserve this,” her owner, Kristina Ringold, said in a July 18 post on Facebook. “She was my best friend.”
Ringold told deputies her dog was at Erickson’s facility, Autumn Breeze Kennel, on July 10, court records show. Evie spent 14 days at Autumn Breeze Kennel during her second round of training, according to a GoFundMe.
During Evie’s stay, Ringold was sent a video by Erickson of her dog, who had a leash connecting her neck to a kennel, deputies said.
“In the video sent by (Erickson), Evie can be seen rolling upwards and struggling, hanging upside‐down by the leashes connecting her to the side of the kennel,” according to the complaint. “During this, (Erickson) can be heard stating he would ‘not let this (expletive) win.’”
As Ringold was on her way to pick up Evie, Erickson called and told her that Evie had died of a heart attack, authorities said.
But that claim, a necropsy revealed, was false.
The necropsy performed July 11 showed signs Evie had bloody toenails and fecal matter along her sides, which indicated she struggled before dying, the sheriff’s office said.
The appearance of hemorrhages throughout her body suggested Evie “died of asphyxiation, probably secondary to strangulation from the rope that had been tied around her neck,” according to the complaint.
Erickson was charged Dec. 12 with overworking or mistreating animals under a torture provision, court records show. He is due in court for the first time Jan. 22.
“Knowing what she went through, I have to live with that the rest of my life,” Ringold told KMSP.
According to his website, Erickson has been a dog trainer since 1998 and trains various breeds.
Autumn Breeze Kennel is in Isle, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis.
This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Dog trainer tells owner her pup died of heart attack, but she was abused, MN cops say."