Miami woman claims she cut dog’s neck after dream ‘required her to complete a sacrifice,’ police say

Elena Barakova Cowan (MDCR)

MIAMI – A Miami woman is facing a felony animal cruelty charge after she cut her dog Sparky “several times” in the neck after being told to do so in a dream, police said.

Police arrested Elena Barakova Cowan, 37, of Edgewater, on Friday after a two-month-long investigation into the incident.

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According to an arrest report, Barakova Cowan took the dog to a veterinarian for treatment on Nov. 14 and Miami police responded soon after.

She told the officer that, after “she had not had any sleep in approximately four days,” she “had a dream that required for her to complete a sacrifice to the gods to save humanity,” leading her to wake up, go to her kitchen, grab a knife and “cut the dog’s neck several times,” the report states.

The dog suffered at least two superficial cuts and two more that were “deeper and overlapping,” the arrest report states.

Sparky survived the attack, police said, and was later taken in for adoption by Miami-Dade Animal Services.

Police took Barakova Cowan into custody at the Coral Gables Branch Court building, at 3100 Ponce de Leon Blvd., just after 4 p.m. Friday.

The Bulgarian national, who’s facing a second-degree felony charge of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill, was no longer listed in Miami-Dade jail records as of Monday morning.


About the Author
Chris Gothner headshot

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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