GILLETTE, Wyo. — A man was charged with animal abuse after officers learned he had locked a 13-year-old dog in a storage unit without food or water for two days, according to Gillette Deputy Police Chief Brent Wasson.
The dog was discovered in a storage unit belonging to a 30-year-old man at a facility on Warlow Drive around 1:10 p.m. Feb. 17, Wasson said, adding that officers were given the man’s contact information by facility management.
When they called the man, he said he left the dog — a 13-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback — in the storage unit around 5 p.m. Feb. 15 because he had to attend a job interview, but he was on his way back, per Wasson.
Officers were permitted to cut the lock, and they found the dog without food or water. They also noted the outside temperature was below zero with the windchill, Wasson said.
The dog was taken to the animal shelter, where the man was cited for animal abuse. He willingly relinquished custody of the animal.
