CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two South Charleston men were arrested Friday and face animal cruelty charges after a Charleston police officer discovered two puppies in an alley earlier in the week.
Johnathan Lee Williams, 29, and Hakeem T. Ford, are at South Central Regional Jail with a $10,000 bond following an investigation.
According to the Charleston Police Department, Patrolman J. Cooper was on patrol Aug. 1 in the city’s West Side neighborhood when he heard whimpering coming from a plastic storage tub.
Cooper found two puppies, one of which was dead. The canines were described in a statement as “severely dehydrated with their ribs, spine, and hip bones visible from a distance.”
The Kanawha County Humane Association is taking care of the surviving animal, named Bluebell. They said the dog is responding well to treatment.