Dachshund seriously injured after dispute; police arrest man on suspicion of animal cruelty

Spokane police arrested a man suspected of animal cruelty, alleging he slammed a family member's dog to the ground during a dispute.

Marlitto Burnley, 36, remains jailed without bond. The dog, a dachshund named Pupito, was seriously injured, according to a news release issued by the Spokane Police Department.

Burnley's stepdaughter was staying with her grandfather as her mom was out of town. Burnley was upset that the mother requested the child stay with her grandfather and went to the house. Aware of Burnley's intention to take the child, the grandfather took the daughter and the other children from the house to a park with his small dogs, according to court records filed in support of the animal cruelty allegations.

Burnley arrived at the house and began searching for his stepdaughter. He blocked the grandfather's car in when he and the children returned from the park. Burnley began yelling and aggressively moving toward the grandfather, leading him to use pepper spray for protection, according to court records.

Burnley then reached into the grandfather's car window, grabbed the dog, raised him over his head and slammed him against the street. The dog appeared motionless.

Pupito is recovering, Spokane police spokesperson Daniel Strassenberg said.

The children were seen crying and comforting the injured dog when officers arrived. Burnley was later arrested for first-degree animal cruelty and made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.

He is currently being held in the Spokane County Jail with no bond and is scheduled for arraignment on July 7.

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This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 7:06 PM.