Omaha woman pleads not guilty to animal cruelty in dog castration case

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — An Omaha woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to trying to castrate her dogs.

Jessica Charf, 45, waived her preliminary hearing, and her case was sent to Douglas County District Court.

Charf was arrested in May and charged with two counts of intentional animal cruelty.

SEE ALSO: Bond set at $25,000 for Omaha woman accused of trying to castrate dogs

She is accused of trying to neuter her two dogs herself because she couldn’t afford to have a veterinarian do it.

Charf looked up “banding” online, according to court documents.

Banding is a type of castration that cuts off the flow of blood to the testicles, which eventually fall off.

It is commonly used on livestock, but it is not recommended for dogs, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said.

SEE ALSO: Omaha woman accused of animal torture after trying to castrate two dogs

After she banded the dogs, they suffered injury and infection, court documents say. Both needed surgery.

On May 28, Charf paid a $2,500 bail to be released from jail.