Owner charged after dog dies in cold

Authorities have charged a South suburban woman with misdemeanor animal cruelty after her dog was left outside during subzero temperatures and died of hypothermia.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Monday that 46-year-old Tracy Cherry was charged after the department’s animal crimes unit received a tip Jan. 16 that a dog was found dead outside her Calumet Park apartment.

The pit bull’s body was found inside a doghouse. The investigation determined that the dog had been left outside Jan. 5 and that Cherry discovered its body Jan. 6. Temperatures fell as low as minus 15 degrees that day.

There is no listed phone number for Cherry in Calumet Park.