SHELBY, NC (WBTV) – A two year old Labrador-Chow mix dog is recovering after authorities say he was dragged behind a moped for a couple of miles a week and a half ago.
"It's is unbelievable" said Marguerite Mebane of the Cleveland County Human Society. Mebane is caring for the dog as the animal recovers from its wounds.
The dog she has named Sunshine, had scrape marks on its side and all four paws have open sores and other wounds on the pads.
Joe Louis Wilson, 73, has been charged with animal cruelty but he denies doing anything wrong.
Wilson had been ordered by Animal Control to get his dog vaccinated and on April 28th, he said, he was heading to a clinic to do just that.
Wilson said he was pushing the moped and the dog was on a rope and the animal just got tangled. "I wasn't riding the moped I was walking alongside it," he said Monday afternoon.
He denies being cruel to the dog. Trip Bowling, Animal Control Director said he believes Wilson was riding the moped with the dog tied behind it.
The dog could not keep up and was dragged. "People all along the path saw it and called us," he said. Wilson will appear in court on the charges next month.
Mebane said the dog has a lot of physical and emotional wounds to recover from but believes the dog will make a fine family pet before too long.
"We do want to adopt her out to the right people in a few weeks, "she said.
Mebane hopes publicity over what happened will send a message out that people need to think of their animals before doing anything that could hurt them.
"Animal cruelty will not be tolerated here," she said.
