Man Cited for Animal Cruelty
A man from Schuylkill County will be cited for cruelty to animals for allegedly starving his dog. The animal is now in the hands of the SPCA.

Jasmine, a boxer, is all skin and bones. She's being cared for by workers at the Hillside SPCA near Pottsville.

Officials said the owner gave up the dog because of an impending divorce. Because of the dog's condition, the owner will be cited for cruelty to animals.

"In the year 2009 there is no excuse that someone would let their animal starve, which is what we think he did to the dog. He did starve her. There is nothing medically wrong with the dog, her blood work is fine, her fecal examination is fine," said Tricia Moyer of the Hillside SPCA.

"You can tell just by the way it's treated. It's horrible now a days but you see it every now and then," said Matthew Scheer of Hillside.

Jasmine has other problems too.

"Her belly is red and she's on antibiotics because she was laying in her own waste in her cage. That's why her skin is infected and her feet are swollen from laying in that," MOyer explained.

Erin Meier's dog just died and she and her family were at Hillside Thursday looking for another pet. She can't believe how Jasmine looks.

"Just to think that someone would do that to a dog and let it down to that weight is disgusting," Meier said.

"Hopefully they have something to answer to. That's pathetic, that's pathetic," said Bryan Smolock of Ashland.

"It's scary to me that there are people out there that could do this to an animal. So it's very scary that someone could see a dog like this in their home just starve," Moyer added.

SPCA officials said Jasmine is eating and believe she will be at her normal weight in about a month. Then they hope someone will adopt her.