A West View man cited several times for his dog running loose is facing a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals after it was hit and killed by a car.
West View police filed charges June 18 against Robert McDonald, 42.
According to a criminal complaint, a concerned neighbor called borough police June 8 to report that McDonald’s dog, Kilo, had been hit by a car and killed.
The neighbor was upset because they knew the dog got out frequently and thought there should be some accountability for the dog being killed, the complaint states.
When officers went to speak with McDonald, he admitted to his dog getting loose again and being hit by a car near Highland and Bronx avenues, which is about a third of a mile from his home on Jamaica Avenue. He pointed to where the dog was buried in his yard next to his driveway, according to the complaint.
McDonald had been cited eight times and given one verbal warning for the dog running at-large over the past three months, according to the complaint.
The neighbor showed police text messages from McDonald’s friend and roommate the day after the incident. The roommate said the dog got out because the fence was left open and that he was trying to catch the dog when it was hit, the complaint states.
A driver stopped and wanted to call police, but they did not because police already had cited McDonald so many times for the dog getting out, according to the complaint. The roommate dragged the dog off the road, took it back to McDonald’s house and buried it.
An Allegheny County assistant district attorney said a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor and summary counts of cruelty to animals would be appropriate for McDonald recklessly and knowingly allowing the dog to get loose from his property and ultimately killed.
McDonald did not have an attorney listed in court records. His preliminary hearing before District Judge Richard Opiela is scheduled for Aug. 26.