Pikeville man charged for allegedly dumping dead dog on roadside
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 12, 2018 2:56 PM
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Robert Hugh Casper Jr.
A Pikeville man is facing charges after allegedly dumping his grandson's dead, pregnant dog on the side of the road a few days ago.
Robert Hugh Casper Jr., 56, 102 Gene Arthur Lane, Pikeville, is charged with cruelty to animals and disposing of a dead domesticated animal.
Officer Joseph Sauls with Wayne County Animal Control said Casper was reportedly taking care of the dog while his grandson is in jail.
Sauls said while the agency has some suspicions as to how the brown, female pit bull died, they are waiting on the results of a necropsy being conducted in Raleigh.
The incident was reported to animal control on Monday morning after someone found the dog and called authorities.
Sauls said an animal control officer went out and found the dog on the side of Airport Road in Pikeville.
A post made on Facebook Monday morning showing the dead dog made its rounds on the social media site, garnering about 1,000 reactions, nearly the same number of comments and more than 4,300 shares.
Sauls said the agency believes the dog was put out on the side of the road the night before it was found.
Officers began asking people in the area some questions about what they had seen, Sauls said, and members of the public provided tips to law enforcement, which led to Casper's arrest.
Casper was arrested Thursday and put in the Wayne County Jail under a $5,000 secured bond.
Sauls said Casper has been cooperative with law enforcement's questioning.