A Middletown Township man has been charged with a dog’s death after an investigation by township and Bucks County SPCA police.
On July 13, the Middletown Township Police Department’s animal control officer received a call from BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital on Veterans Highway that a dog was brought to the facility deceased and had bruising that concerned veterinarians. The owner of the dog told pet hospital staff she suspected her husband had been abusing the dog, according to court papers.
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A police detective obtained a search warrant for the body of the 1-year-old female boxer mix. The dog’s remains were taken to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg to receive a necropsy, authorities said.
Days after the dog’s death, staff at the lab performed the necropsy, a post-mortem examination of an animal, and found that the dog died from shock from trauma that appeared to suggest a “non-accidental injury.” The lab found blunt force trauma injuries and healing rib fractures, suggesting a past traumatic event, police said.
In mid-August, a township detective and SPCA police officer went to visit the family that owned the dog and spoke with Alfino Santangelo, 43, at the Middletown Township home, police said.
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Santangelo allegedly told investigators he was seeing a therapist and “shrink” for anger issues.
Santangelo explained to detectives that he had come home the day the dog died and found it had defecated in an upstairs hallway. He cleaned up the mess and went to a nearby Wawa, police said.
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When Santangelo returned from Wawa, he discovered the dog, which was named Porscha, had diarrhea throughout the same upstairs hallway, police said.
Santangelo, according to police, said he kicked the dog while wearing steel-towed work boots to discipline her.
Santangelo said following the kicking of the dog, he took her for her normal daily walk, according to police.
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Santangelo’s wife and kids returned home about two hours later and found the dog unresponsive with agonal breathing, leading to them taking the dog to the pet hospital, police said.
Santangelo also allegedly admitted to kicking the dog in a prior incident.
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Santangelo reportedly told the investigators the dog had long had bouts of bloody diarrhea, but had not been seen by a doctor while in his care, police said.
Investigators said veterinary records for the dog before the Santangelo’s owned it showed it was healthy and had no medical problems.
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Santangelo was charged recently with aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, and neglect of animals. He was preliminarily arraigned before District Judge Daniel Baranoski and bail was set at $1,500 unsecured.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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