SEARCY, Ark. — White County officials are stepping in after a case of possible animal abuse, and it's an incident they said they've never seen before.
We are not showing the images of the dog because of how disturbing they are, but the details could also be unsettling.
On Sunday, White County officials became aware of a horrific scene involving a dog nailed to a wooden board at the intersection of Fairview Road and Panther Creek. Written on the board said, "This is what happens to dogs dropped off here."
"Obliviously, it shocks the conscience to nail a dog to a board and put it on the side of a road," White County Sheriff Lt. Scott Seiders said.
The sheriff's office is investigating, and they said they took the deceased dog for evidence, interviewed the suspect, and filed criminal charges against the man.
It's not against the law if you shoot a dog to protect your livestock, but the White County Sheriff's Office said there could be reason to believe a crime was committed in this case.
The possible charges could include animal cruelty and aggravated animal cruelty.
"We're still looking at charges that might apply to the actual display of the animal," Seiders said. "The core charge would be related to animal cruelty."
There is no humane society or animal shelter in the county. The sheriff's office said if anyone is caught dumping stray animals, they could be charged with animal cruelty or neglect.
While at the scene gathering video for this story, a man drove up to our crew and said he was the one who nailed the dog to the sign. The man said he felt terrible about it, but didn't know what else to do because the area is commonly used as a dumping ground.