Authorities: Indiana man charged after puppy found hanged in tree


SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Authorities in Alabama say a man accused of hanging a puppy from a tree has been charged with animal cruelty.

News outlets report that 42-year-old Jasen Charles Howard of Wheatfield, Indiana, was arrested Thursday. A sheriff's spokesman says a witness saw a man take a puppy into the woods in Jackson County and found the animal hanging from a rope. The spokesman says the witness cut down the puppy and called authorities.

Howard told authorities the puppy had parvo and he hanged it because he didn't have a gun to put it out of its misery. The puppy tested negative for the disease and is doing OK.