Man seen carrying his dead dog around his neck arrested for animal cruelty, affidavit says

SAN ANTONIO - A man has been arrested after he was seen carrying his dead dog around his neck.

William Rose, 40, was arrested on Monday and charged with Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals.

According to the arrest report, Rose was seen by a neighbor on Aug. 8 carrying his dead dog around his neck. He told the neighbor that his dog "Rocky" had died and he was going to walk him around one last time.

A complaint was made when a witness saw the dog behind his apartment with wire around his neck in a makeshift shrine.

When officers and Animal Care Services confronted him, Rose said his dog died of depression, according to the affidavit.

Results from a necropsy came back on Sept. 8 that gave the cause of the dog's death as "mechanical asphyxia due to strangulation."

Rose was interviewed on Sept. 14 at the Bexar County Jail where he was incarcerated on another charge. He stated that one the day his dog died, he had taken him for a long walk without a leash. Rose said he was approached by an apartment security guard and told he had to have his dog on a leash. He said he then held onto the dog by its collar, which caused the dog to be lifted off his front paws during the walk.

He said the walk lasted 20 minutes.

According to the police report, Rose said that the dog had trouble breathing when he brought him back to the apartment, but was still alive when he left him in the apartment. When he returned, he said he found the dog dead.

He told investigators that he wanted to carry him around one last time before he was going to "throw him in the dumpster," the arrest report says.

Rose was released Tuesday on $25,000 bond.