An Omaha man is facing felony charges after leaving his dog outside in the freezing cold while on vacation. Mark Langan is a spokesman for theNebraska Humane Society and says the animal was found after answering a complaint in February. According to Langan, animal control officersinvestigated a complaint of a dead dog in a back yard. They a pit bull which had starved and frozen to death due to exposure to sub-zeroweather for up to a week. The dog, chained to a utility pole, died of starvation and hypothermia.
“Nebraska Humane Society obtained a felony arrest for the individual charging Keion Shelton with a felony animal cruelty charge and he was arrested by members of the fugitive task force,” said Langan. It is now a felony to abandon an animal that results in injury, illness or death. A law past just last year by the Nebraska Legislature makes it a felony to abandon an animal resulting in it’s death. Says Langdon, “Sadly, we probably foresee more such arrests taking place both in cold weather and in hot weather.”
If convicted, Shelton faces up to five years in prison.