Arizona: Noe Morales is accused of beating dog with shovel so severely its leg had to be amputated

ARIZONA -- A man accused of hitting his three dogs with a shovel — one needing to have its leg amputated — was arrested by Tucson police.

Noe Morales, 28, was arrested Feb. 24 and booked into the Pima County jail on suspicion of felony animal abuse, according to a Tucson Police Department Facebook post Thursday.

Tyler, one of the dogs, was found to have a chronic fracture of a hind leg, and the severely injured leg was amputated, police said.

Pima Animal Care Center took control of Tyler and the two other dogs during the investigation. All three dogs were adopted, said police.

On Dec. 20, 2016, police responded to a report of animal abuse in the 2500 block of East Cameron Vista. The neighborhood is south of East 36th Street and east of South Kino Parkway.

The caller reported seeing a man hitting his dogs multiple times with a shovel. The witness said the dogs were yelping, and that one dog appeared to be limping.

When officers arrived at the house, they found Morales standing in the yard with a shovel in his hand. Morales said he was filling holes, and denied hitting his dogs, police said.

Officers asked to see the dogs and noticed one had a severe limp. Detectives and a Pima Animal Care Center investigator took over the case.

After examining the dogs, the center took the dogs and Morales was cited for multiple violations, including neglect of shelter and water, no dog licenses and no rabies vaccinations, said police.

(Arizona Daily Star - March 3, 2017)