Tri-State man charged after bagging live dog, throwing it in dumpster, police say

ADAMS COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - Police have arrested a man on charges of animal cruelty after finding a dog inside a garbage dump Wednesday afternoon.

Ashley Nesbitt says her husband found the dog, named Oliver.

“My husband was taking some boxes to the dumpster, and when he placed the boxes in the dumpster, he saw a bag moving and some breathing,” Nesbitt said Wednesday.

Nesbitt’s husband feared someone had thrown a baby in the garbage so he hopped in to see what was inside the bag.

“He went ahead and ripped it open. That’s when he saw the dog’s face,” she said.

Nesbitt and her husband called Peebles police and described Oliver’s condition.

“He was lethargic, and he wasn’t moving,” Nesbitt recalled.

Peebles Chief of Police Matthew Windle says dispatchers advised them to put water on the dog and keep him cool until Windle could arrive. He says when he got there, Oliver was alert but dehydrated, and they rushed him to the vet.

“Vet said there was no abuse. The dog wasn’t hungry, wasn’t hurt, no injuries,” he said. “Everything was fine, just a little bit of heat exhaustion.”

Windle says Oliver was released to the Adams County Dog Warden, where he seems to be doing well.

Later Wednesday, Windle says a man called to say the dog belonged to his girlfriend and that he had thrown the dog in the dumpster.

“They were in the process of moving out. The owner of the dog, the girlfriend, actually wasn’t home. He was moving boxes and fell on top of the pup, and when he checked it, he wasn’t breathing,” Windle explained.

Police arrested the man but have not released his name. Windle says the man told officers he didn’t call police initially because he thought he’d killed the dog and panicked, so he put the dog in the dumpster.

“It’s really scary. I’m hoping that it was just a misunderstanding, but I can’t imagine doing something like that to my animals,” Nesbitt said.

The man is behind bars and will appear in court on June 21.

The couple will not get the dog back unless the judge believes the dog will be returning back to a loving home.

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