The dog found bound with duct tape on the side of the road in Argyle Friday morning had to be euthanized Saturday. Meanwhile, State Police charged a Fort Edward man in connection with the case.
Police say 52-year-old Shane Morehouse admitted to duct taping a dog, and leaving him to die along Coach Road in Argyle.
Saturday, police charged Morehouse with animal cruelty and animal abandonment.
“This is going to be a misdemeanor cruelty charge, being that the animal didn't suffer serious physical injury or death as a result of being bound and dumped on the side of the road,” explained NYSP Lt. Joe Keane.
Police say Morehouse is a friend of the dog's owner, Hudson Falls resident Louis Hart.
Police say Hart tells them, he was trying to care for the dog's wounded neck, but that he couldn't afford to go to the vet, and that is why he called Morehouse.
“Mr. Morehouse had promised the owner he was going to take the dog where it could roam free in its last days,” Lt. Keane said.
We stopped at Hart's home to see if he wanted to explain, but there was no answer.
Hart's neighbor, Leroy Brilyea showed our news crew the back of his property, on the other side of the fence, where he says the dog was kept.
“They had a long chain around its neck with padlocks,” Brilyea said.
Brilyea says the dog was left outside without shelter for years.
“It has been living in mud for two years. In the winter time they go out and pour food on the ground, it’s terrible,” Brilyea said.
Police say Hart tells them the dog sustained his wounds after getting into a scuffle with another animals in the backyard.
But Brilyea isn't convinced.
“There’s no doubt,” he said. “Those cuts around the dog's neck didn't happen yesterday.”
Brilyea tells us he and other neighbors called Hudson Falls Police about the dog, but he says they never did anything.
FOX23 News called the Police Department, but we didn't hear back by news time.
Hart has not been charged.
Morehouse was released and is due back in court on February 14th.
State Police say more charges could be pending.
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New York State Police at Greenwich have arrested 52-year-old Shane Morehouse of Fort Edward and charged him with cruelty to animals and animal abandonment.
Both charges are misdemeanors under the Agriculture & Markets Law.
The arrest was a result of an investigation into a report of animal cruelty which was first reported on Friday in Argyle.
That is where a dog was found with its paws duct taped together and left on the side of Coach Road in the town.
Troopers and investigators followed up on the numerous tips when the dog was recognized from the extensive press coverage.
Police say the dog, subsequently identified as "Chubby", a Malamute-mix, belonged to a man from Hudson Falls who turned it over to Morehouse, because he was no longer able to care for him.
After being found, Chubby was taken to a local veterinarian and treated for his injuries.
Unfortunately, it was discovered that the dog was suffering from an extensive unrelated illness and the animal had to be euthanized.
Morehouse was arraigned today in Argyle town court and released on his own recognizance.
He is scheduled to reappear before the Town of Argyle Court on February 14th at 5:00PM.
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Town Highway Department employees in Argyle worked outside of their regular day-to-day Friday morning.
They found a dog, bound and wounded on the side of the road and they helped get him to safety.
The dog has been dubbed, “Argyle,” since that's where he was found.
Argyle is undergoing surgery to repair deep, open wounds around his neck.
The dog is expected to be okay and will eventually go up for adoption.
For now, Argyle is considered evidence in a State Police investigation.
The Husky-Shepard mix was found bound with duct tape and left on the side of the road Friday morning.
“People are so cruel,” said Elizabeth Taft of Greenwich.
Local dog owners looked at some gruesome photos of Argyle taken at the SPCA of Upstate New York in Queensbury.
“There’s no sense of humanity at all,” said local resident Roger Wyatt.
“We found severe wounds around the neck where something, whether it had been a collar or a chain, we don't know what it was, but we know that the injury is quite severe,” explained SPCA Executive Director Cathy Cloutier.
State Police say a couple town employees were driving along Coach Road in Argyle, when they saw the dog lift its head.
They stopped, and found the dog's front and hind legs duct taped, with the empty tape roll nearby.
The lacerations on its neck were layers deep.
“The whole neck is affected, some parts worse than others,” Cloutier said.
Cloutier says the husky gobbled up three cans of food.
Though Argyle weighs nearly 100 pounds, she says he's significantly underweight for his breed.
Cloutier calls this one of the worst animal cruelty cases she's ever seen.
“It's totally inhumane, it’s painful,” she said. “I don't know what charges they will do, but I hope they go for the gold on this one.”
SPCA officials and State Police are now asking anyone with information to come forward.
“It depends on the viewing audience and the good hearts out there that just won't let this stand,” Wyatt said.
People got very emotional when we showed them the photos, some of which were so graphic we didn't put them on air.
State Police tell us because of the duct tape, whoever did this faces an aggravated animal cruelty charge, which is a felony.
After surgery, Argyle will be cared for at the SPCA.
And though the dog is considered evidence in the investigation, Police say he'll be put up for adoption as soon as he is well enough.
