Man caught on camera throwing puppy out of car window faces charges
By Hannah Mackenzie
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BRYSON CITY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Charges have been filed against a Swain County man who was caught on surveillance camera throwing a puppy out of a car window.
It happened on Friday, just before 11 a.m. outside of PAWS animal shelter on Lemons Branch Road in Bryson City.
“This was heartless,” said Beth Stroud, PAWS executive director. “This was just a very callous, heartless thing to do and I will never understand it.”
Stroud and the PAWS staff were stunned by their surveillance camera footage.
“We just gasped,” Stroud said. “We immediately started looking and trying to get the word out to people, if you find this puppy, please bring it to us.”
Stroud said she called Bryson City police, then she put the word out on social media; her post proved successful.
“We immediately had so many people reach out and say, ‘Hey, I know this guy,’” Stroud said. “Even people that live nearby and they’re like, ‘Hey, the Jeep is here right now’.”
A criminal summons has by filed by the magistrate’s office. The 35-year-old suspect, who has not yet been identified by the Bryson City Police Department, is facing two charges: cruelty to animals and abandonment of an animal.
“That’s the sad part, the gate was open,” Stroud said. “He could have just come on up. We would have taken the dog.”
Now that the wheels of justice are turning, Stroud is adamant about finding the pup, which ran off in an unknown direction.
“That animal is scared, and possibly hurt and we would just really like to help that animal,” Stoud said.
According to court documents, the suspect is scheduled to be in a Swain County courtroom on Sept. 26.
Multiple attempts to reach the Bryson City Police Department to confirm the suspect’s identity, and to inquire if charges would be filed for the other occupants inside the vehicle at the time, have gone unanswered.
As for the puppy, if anyone sees it or has picked it up, you’re asked to contact PAWS at 828)-488-0418 their shelter is located at 57 Lemons Branch Road, Bryson City, NC.
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