A dog that was dragged behind a pickup truck in Forsyth County is going to be okay, but the pet owner has been charged with felony animal cruelty.
Forsyth County Sheriff's Cpl. Doug Rainwater said someone saw Emory Junior Samples driving down Settingdown Road Monday afternoon with the dog tethered to the truck and called authorities.
"The caller said the dog was injured and we immediately sent some deputies to investigate," Rainwater said. "We found the dog by itself in some woods. The dog did need immediate medical treatment, which we took care of."
Rainwater said the called also provided deputies with the tag number to the pickup truck, so deputies were able to track the vehicle and the driver down shortly after finding the injured dog.
"The driver of the truck was identified as Emory Junior Samples of Cumming, Ga.," Rainwater said. "Through the investigation, we were able to determine he was in fact pulling the dog with his truck and he was arrested for felony cruelty to animals."
Rainwater said deputies believe the dog had escaped from Samples' yard and when he went to retrieve the animal, he tied it to the truck to walk it home. Rainwater said it does not appear Samples was traveling at a high rate of speed.
"The problem is the fact that he tied a dog to the back of his truck and this was a public roadway and, you know, at some point the dog gets very tired, wore out and at that point, I think the dog probably dropped to the ground while still being dragged," Rainwater said.
Samples was taken to the Forsyth County Detention Center and has since bonded out of jail.
