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Man Buries His 18-Year-Old Dog Alive After Getting A New Kitten

Man Buries His 18-Year-Old Dog Alive After Getting A New Kitten

The police chief said he'd never seen anything this cruel

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A man from Massachusetts has been arrested after he allegedly buried his dog alive and left him to die because the animal didn't get on with a new kitten that he had bought.

Twenty-four-year-old Richard Piquard, buried Chico, an 18-year-old Shih Tzu dog, in a hole in a wooded area and then covered the entrance with a rock so that he could not escape.

Police said that the dog was buried in an area at the back of a house in which Mr Piquard lived. He has been released on a $1,000 (£770) bail and will return to be arraigned next Tuesday.

Northbridge Police Department

The cat has been taken away from him and placed in the car of his parents.

Local police Chief Walter J. Warchol told the Telegram & Gazette: "Even in my 41 years here, I've never seen anything like it.

"We've seen other forms of animal cruelty. Burying something alive is a little beyond the reach."

Facebook

Chico is thought to have come into the care of Mr Piquard around a year and a half ago, after an ex-girlfriend moved to a new apartment and was not allowed to bring him with her. Mr Piquard reportedly asked her to take the dog back, but to no avail.

At around 6am on Sunday morning he allegedly sent messages to Kaylee Belanger - a mutual friend of Piquard and his former girlfriend - that said that he had to get rid of the dog, and alerted her to Chico's whereabouts.

Belanger rushed to the scene and dug out Chico, finding the dog breathing, but not responding. He was then rushed to the Veterinary Medicine School at Tufts University, Grafton, where he was stabilised.

Facebook

Sadly, however, the police reported that vets eventually decided that the best option was for him to be put down.

In a Facebook post, Belanger wrote: "We uncovered a portion of Chico's head, only to realise that the rock was on top of him. I lifted the rock and there he was. Took a step back to grab the blanket when my fiancé shouted, 'He's breathing!!' And he was. He was alive.

"While screaming and questioning how someone could do this, I hurriedly removed him from the hole. He yelped in pain, dirt in every part of him. He felt flat like a pancake from the rock weighing him down in the hole."

Facebook

She continued: "Although after many hours Chico became more responsive and gained his spirit back. He couldn't move his head or get up due to what is suspected to be a dislocated disk in his neck.

"Chico was evaluated to be malnourished, dehydrated, in shock with hypothermia as well as anaemia due to the infection of fleas on him. He had matted and stained fur. And he was clearly being neglected before being buried alive,"

Piquard has been charged with one count of animal cruelty.

Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: Dog, News, US News, Animals, USA