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HERRIMAN — A man who told police he was unable to properly care for his puppy now faces a felony charge for allegedly leaving the dog unattended in a kennel on his porch for nearly a week during record-breaking heat.
The 19-year-old Herriman man was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony.
On May 31, the man put "Gus Gus," his 10-month-old border collie-poodle mix, in a kennel outside on the porch of his apartment, according to a police booking statement. He then told his friends that the dog had been euthanized due to having a terminal illness.
But on June 4, the dog was discovered by others on the porch. His crate was covered by a blanket and surrounded by tires. Court documents state Gus Gus was alive "but in critical condition."
The dog had no food or water and had been outside for five days in "extreme record-breaking heat conditions," according to charging documents.
"During the five days, the animal was exposed to the elements, Utah had the hottest weather in Utah state history. This exposure to the extreme heat likely caused extreme physical pain to the animal," police wrote in their affidavit.
The dog was taken to a local vet clinic in critical condition, where caregivers noted that a border collie-poodle mix of that age should be about 45 pounds. Gus Gus weighed 15 pounds when he was found.
As police investigated the incident, they learned that the man had never taken his dog to a veterinarian or had any type of terminal illness diagnosis.
"The subject admitted to lying about the medical care and stated he knew he should have taken better care of the animal. He stated he had started a new job and was hardly home for the animal requiring the animal to stay in the kennel for hours on end. He stated he came home and found the dog not moving in the kennel and decided to not touch the dog/check on the dog, but instead put the dog on the porch, covered the kennel with blankets, and concealed the kennel under tires," the affidavit states.
The man told police he was afraid at that point to check on the dog or seek treatment because "a veterinarian would know of the lack of care the animal has received for the past several months."
