CORE, W.Va. — A Core resident has been charged with animal cruelty after admitting to police he strangled his dog with a zip tie.
Daniel Wichhart, 62, told deputies from the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department he had to put the dog down because he was chasing chickens and roosters and had gotten away from him.
After obtaining a search warrant, deputies found a dead, white terrier weighing approximately 15 to 20 pounds with a zip-tie around it’s neck pulled extremely tight.
A neighbor contacted deputies after Wichhart asked him if he had a gun he could use to put his dog down, but he did not. The neighbor also told deputies he heard Wichhart talking about strangling the dog to death.
Wichhart is being held in the North Central Regional Jail.