Man accidentally drags puppy behind minivan, but then dumps him - still alive - on the side of the highway and flees

TEXAS -- An eight-week-old puppy, dragged for nearly a mile and left for dead, is expected to make a full recovery.

The man accused in the crime said it was all a horrible accident.

Wualter Samano, 24, said he had no idea the puppy was tied to the trailer hitch of his minivan when he left his home off Highway 21 in Bryan on Sunday.

Horribly injured and left to die in the blazing hot Texas sun

 

Samano told News 3 it wasn't until someone flagged him down, about a mile away on FM 2818, until he made the horrible discovery.

Samano's seven-year-old nephew, Antonio, said his friend owns the puppy and came over to play that day.

"He tied the leash to the ball, and then he went back," said Antonio.

Antonio said he and his friend went inside to play. A short time later, Samano got in the van and left.


[Once he realized what he had done, he didn't take the puppy to a veterinarian. Instead...] Samano said he [abandoned] the [injured] dog along the highway because he was scared.

This is where he yanked the puppy loose from the vehicle and
then drove off, leaving the puppy to die.

He said he's new to the country, and was afraid of what might happen to him and his family.

Julianne Burkhalter with Bryan Animal Services said the puppy, named Josiah by the animal control officer who rescued him, is recovering well.

 

"He does have a long road to go. A recovery that will take some time," said Burkhalter. "The swelling has gone down, he seems to be a little bit more mobile and eating well."

Samano faces charges of animal cruelty.

(KBTX - Aug 5, 2014)