Texas Man Strangles Pet Dog to Death, Claims it Died From Depression

A Texas man, who was arrested Monday for allegedly strangling his dog to death, told officials the canine had died from depression.

William Rose of San Antonio was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals. According to the arrest affidavit, Rose's dog, Rocky, died on Aug. 8, 2020, the San Antonio Express-News reported. A necropsy conducted on the dog a month later revealed it died of asphyxia from strangulation.

The Animal Care Service (ACS) authorities learned of the dog's death after one of Rose's neighbors saw him carry the animal. According to the unidentified neighbor, Rose told him his dog had died, and he was going to "walk it around one last time."

The witness told the police the dog had a wire wrapped around its neck at that time, and that he saw Rose place the animal in a makeshift shrine behind his apartment.

After the neighbors called the ACS, Rose told them he didn’t know how the dog died, then later claimed it died "from depression," the affidavit stated.

After the necropsy report indicated ligature marks around its neck, a San Antonio Police Department detective interviewed Rose at the Bexar County Jail, where he was booked.

Rose then confessed that on the day the dog died, he had taken it for a long walk without a leash. He said a security guard from the apartment complex confronted him and told him to put the dog on a leash.

According to the affidavit, Rose said since he did not have a leash, he held onto the dog by its collar, which caused the canine's front paws to lift off the floor. The walk lasted about 20 minutes. When they returned home, the dog appeared to have trouble breathing. Rose said the dog was alive when he left the apartment but returned to find it dead.

Cruelty to non-livestock animals is a third-degree felony charge and his bond was set at $25,000.

A few months ago, a Pinellas Park man was arrested after he choked his dog to death because it bit his girlfriend, Tampa Bay Times reported. Police said Joseph Walker straddled the 25-pound dog and strangled it after the pit bull mix bit his girlfriend's ankle. According to the arrest report, the accused had scratch marks on his stomach from the dog trying to get out of the chokehold.