MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A Morgantown man has been charged with animal cruelty after officers found a “severely emaciated” dog while responding to a dispute.
Jerome Williams, 55, of Morgantown, was arrested after officers with the Morgantown Police Department were called to assist with a dispute at a residence on Maryland Street involving three people on February 7, where officers observed a dog on a couch in a severe state of malnourishment.
According to a criminal complaint, officers saw “a tan and white hound mixed dog in a curled up position near the couch” and were able to see the “skeletal structure through the skin… due to the state of malnourishment.”
In the complaint, officers also notice “the dog to have labored, slow breathing along with displaying lameness” due to the animal “not being alert with officers present in the home.”
A dog warden from Monongalia County was called to the scene to determine the dog’s health issues, and when a wardens picked up the dog, it “remained in a limp state during the evaluation” and “needed emergency treatment,” officers said.
Once the dog was taken for treatment, medical records showed that the animal weighed less than 18 lbs. and was “severely emaciated” with “severe muscle wasting,” according to the complaint.
Williams is currently being held in North Central Regional Jail.