‘”Hillbilly” strangled his puppy when it got sick – then claimed he’d been following government advice’
Matthew Blackwell reportedly offered the bizarre excuse when asked by detectives why he had strangled his own pet dog
A self-described ‘hillbilly’ strangled his pet puppy when it got sick – then told detectives he was following government advice, it is alleged.
Matthew Blackwell, 32, offered the unlikely excuse after eyewitnesses saw him killing his pet pit bull Yazooka in North Tazewell, Virginia, on January 8 and dialed 911, it was reported.
Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt said: ‘His excuse to the officers was that he was told the dog was infected and he had to strangle it.
‘He actually said a woman with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) told him to strangle the dog.
‘He said they said that was the preferred way to kill the dog.’
It is unclear what infection Blackwell claimed his dog had been suffering, or if investigators were able to establish whether the dog really did have such an illness.
The abused pet was found tossed in a trash can in Blackwell’s back yard.
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Blackwell – who describes himself as ‘just ur standard hell billy’ (sic) on his Facebook page shared multiple videos of the dog last June, when it was a tiny puppy.
The alleged animal abuser has multiple past convictions for crimes including larceny and burglary, and even shared a photo of himself in prison on his social media account.
Sheriff Hieatt said there was no suggestion the pit bull was in any way dangerous, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported.
He explained: ‘We never had calls from any of the neighbors or calls about any concern.
‘As far as we know, this was not a dangerous dog at all and we never had any complaints about it.’
He has now been charged with felony animal cruelty, and could face between one and five years in prison if convicted.
Blackwell was taken to the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, and has since been freed on $2,000 bond.
Sheriff Hieatt said his office takes reports of animal cruelty ‘very seriously’ and urged anyone who witnessed any kind of abuse to alert his deputies.