Woman fined $255 for dying poodle's paws

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A Florida woman who dyed her poodle's paws pink for Halloween said she was fined $255 by an animal control officer.

Christine Hill of Jacksonville said she used dye specifically made for dogs to color her poodle's paws for Halloween, WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, reported Wednesday.

"It goes on like shampoo and you rinse it off like shampoo," Hill said. "Everyone thinks it's cute."

However, Hill said she was confronted by an animal control officer Monday morning while she was with her dog in a field across from her house. She said the officer issued her a $255 citation for violating local and state laws against artificially coloring an animal's fur.

"People put clothes on their dogs and T-shirts and you don't think twice because you're not harming the dog," Hill said.

"I think they should be looking at real animal cruelty cases," she said. "This is not animal cruelty."