CARNEGIE, Pa. — A Carnegie man is facing charges after police say he left his dogs outside for days without food or water.
The charges come after neighbors called police to complain about the dogs being left outside.
“They were barking, but everybody walking by was trying to feed them,” Harjap Mann tells Channel 11.
Mann says neighbors were doing everything they could to try and help the dogs. Police say their owner, James Lewis, left them outside for a week, in the scorching heat, without any food or water.
“They were left in those sheds outside, but it was so hot. They were here this summer, they were here last summer. So I guess they went through this for a couple years,” Mann said.
When officers got to the home, they found the three dogs chained, covered in flies, and two of them with bleeding wounds. One of the dogs appeared to have created its own shelter by digging a space underneath the porch to try to be in the shade.
Investigators also said the dogs could only stand for a short amount of time, then they would lay back down on their sides, and continue with heavy panting.
“Nobody would come outside in the heat, and those poor dogs… they were tied on the chains and could hardly bark," Mann said.
Animal control came to the house and took the dogs. They determined all three of them had body temperatures over 100 degrees.
One of the dogs had a temperature of 110, plus brain swelling and organ failure. It began seizing and had to be put down.
“They should be treated just like human beings. They have feelings,” Mann said. “That’s a shame. It’s terrible.”
Police tell us they had been to the home multiple times in the past for reports that Lewis was neglecting his dogs.
Lewis is charged with three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. He’s out on bond.
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