Police: Man arrested after dumping dog on side of road

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Police in Gwinnett County say a man abandoned his dog alongside a busy road late at night in bad weather, but officers saw what happened and arrested him.

According to the police report obtained by Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas, officers arrested 27-year-old Matthew Sanders around 11:30 p.m. Sunday on charges of abandonment of a dog and reckless conduct.

The officers stopped a car after they saw it pull away from the side of the road in unincorporated Duluth, leaving a dog behind.

As the car drove away, the dog began to chase it.

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Sanders told officers he was trying to get rid of the dog, named Prince, because it wouldn't listen to him.

When told he shouldn't leave the dog in the road, Sanders said he had a code for a nearby storage center and had planned to leave the dog there, but it followed him out.

Video obtained by Channel 2 Action News shows Sanders explaining to officers that he had found the dog by the road and took it home and fed it but that the dog wasn't listening and was pooping around the house, so he brought the animal outside to see if it would just leave on its own.

"Since the abandoned dog was dropped off on a major roadway, it is doubtful that the dog would have survived whether it was hit by a car, starved, or succumbed to the weather," Sgt. Justin Richey said.

In addition to charges of abandoning a dog and reckless conduct, Sanders was cited for not having his headlights, not having a license plate and violating a leash law. He was booked into the Gwinnett County jail.

Prince was taken in by animal control workers and seems headed for a happy ending.

Police learned Thursday that he has an adoption hold on him and that his new owner will be able to pick him up once a mandatory waiting period ends.

Cox Media Group