CONNECTICUT -- A Torrington man facing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges said the dog he’s accused of neglecting was never his in the first place.
Jason A. Carpenter, 27, 175 Clarence St. Apt. 2, is charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and two infractions for not giving the animal a rabies vaccination and failure to comply with dog ownership requirements.
Carpenter said he began feeding the animal when a man living one floor above him moved out and abandoned the animal.
Torrington Police animal control officers began investigating the incident, for which Carpenter was eventually arrested, when a complainant said she’d seen the dog “roaming the area.”
Animal control officers say in court documents that the animal was found “at least” 25 pounds underweight, with sores on its hind legs from “repeatedly” biting and scratching, due to a skin condition or stress.
Carpenter, however, said the dog gained weight since he’d begun feeding it, and that he never had intentions to keep the dog. Court documents cite Carpenter as saying he had the dog for two months.
When Carpenter was contacted he said, “I had the dog for a month, not even, and the dog was abandoned at my house, and I fed him and everything.”
Carpenter said he was unemployed at the time he came into possession of the dog, and could not afford to bring him to a veterinarian.
“So what am I supposed to do let the dog die?” he said. “The dog was never licensed he was never inoculated. How am I supposed to know any of that?” he said.
Carpenter stated he was searching for a new home for the dog, both in court documents and when contacted by a reporter, and had concerns about his ability to care for the animal. When advised that he could do so, Carpenter surrendered ownership of the animal to Torrington Animal Control.
Torrington Police said Carpenter, “was advised that he became responsible for the dog when he took possession of the dog approximately two months prior,” according to the affidavit. “By not ensuring the dog was seen by a veterinarian and treated for his condition when he was fully aware the dog needed vet care he violated,” Connecticut’s animal cruelty statute, reads the affidavit.
(Register Citizen - April 15, 2013)
