Man arrested after friend’s dog dragged by truck

Clark County

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September 17, 2012

Man arrested after friend’s dog dragged by truck

JPD report says dog got out of the bed of the pickup and appeared to be strangled

By GARY POPP gary.popp@newandtribune.com The News and Tribune Mon Sep 17, 2012, 07:58 PM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — A Charlestown man was arrested Sunday after a dog tethered to the bed of his pickup truck leapt from the vehicle and was strangled to death as it was dragged for several blocks on Jeffersonville roadways.

Paul G. Witten, 38, of 3215 Tunnel Mill Road, was preliminarily charged with animal cruelty and impaired driving after he failed three field-sobriety tests.

Jeffersonville police responded to the intersection of Harrison and Mitchell avenues about 8:30 p.m. where officers were met by a frantic woman who had previously contacted authorities as she witnessed Witten pulling the dead dog from Spring and 14th streets several block away.

Witten was also at the scene, as was the 1997 Ford Ranger he was driving and the dead pit bull mix, which was still attached to a tie-down hook in the bed of the truck by a leash secured to its collar.

The police report said the dog also had injuries to its paws and body and it appeared the dog tried to climb back into the vehicle because there were scratches on the side of the truck.

The witness informed police that before their arrival she had spoken with Witten and that he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to the incident report, and that he had picked up the dead dog and placed it back into the bed of the truck.

Police reported that Witten appeared to be intoxicated as he had difficulty removing his wallet from a pocket of his pants and his license from his wallet.

When questioned about the dog, Witten told police he was watching the animal for a friend and originally had the dog in the cabin of the truck, but put it into the bed as the dog was damaging the interior of the truck. He said that he used the dog’s leash to affix it to a hook near the floor of the truck’s bed. Witten continued to tell police that as he was driving, the dog made attempts to get back into the cabin area of the truck.

He told officers he was unsure when the dog had jumped out of the bed and onto the road.

“As Witten was advising what had occurred, his eyes kept closing and he had very unsteady balance as he was nodding off,” the officer remarked in the incident report.

After additional officers arrived, police administered three sobriety test, all of which Witten failed, according to the report. Following the sobriety tests, police administered a portable breath test, which showed Witten had a zero percent blood alcohol content. Witten then submitted to blood and urine tests that was sent to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology for processing.

Police said the results of such tests can take several months to be returned.

Witten was preliminarily charged with cruelty to an animal, a class D felony, and operating while impaired — controlled substance, a class C misdemeanor.