A detention request has been denied for a Chicago doctor accused of abusing her dog.
Anita Damodaran, 38, is facing aggravated animal cruelty charges after her dog was found barely breathing in her Lincoln Park apartment in March 2024.
Damodaran, who is a family physician, was being evicted from her apartment in the 2200 block of North Lakewood Avenue. The landlord hired three cleaners to clear the unit and found the dog, named Betty, inside a plastic bin that was stashed inside the bathtub, Chicago police said.
Betty was found fully matted, severely malnourished and was only able to breathe from a small hole on the container’s lid, the Hinsdale Humane Society said.
The women rushed Betty, who likely survived by eating her own feces, to an animal hospital for treatment.
“We don’t know why anyone would do this to another living being, but we are here now to give her a better life,” the Hinsdale Humane Society said. “Betty has been resilient and is a survivor. Betty deserves better, and from now on, she will be treated like she should have been her entire life — with love and compassion.”
The good news is, Betty is now happy and healthy, and living with a new family, according the Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation.
Damodaran had an active warrant for her arrest from Chicago police.
She was arrested Dec. 10 at her home in Tampa, the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office said.
Damodaran appeared in court Thursday, where a Cook County judge denied the prosecutor’s detention request. However, she was ordered to remain in Illinois, seek medical treatment and will be on 12-hour curfew.
She is expected to appear in court Friday.