A Newtown Township man accused of killing his two dogs because he was angry after visiting his mother in a nursing home has been arraigned.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office last week announced that it had filed felony and misdemeanor charges against 39-year-old George Gooch Ash in the stabbing deaths of his dogs Blake and Shyla, but that he was unavailable to be arraigned.
Ash was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Michael Petrucci on two aggravated cruelty to animal charges and two misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He was sent to Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $1.5-million bail.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month, but as of Thursday he did not have a legal representative listed on the docket. The felony cruelty charges each carry a potential maximum of seven in prison.
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What are the allegations against George Ash
Newtown Township police and the Bucks County SPCA allege that Ash called police and admitted to stabbing the dogs Jan. 18 at his Essex Court home because he was angry that he felt his mother had belittled him, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Ash kicked and beat the dogs, both beagle mixes, who were 7 and 9 years old, for hours before stabbing them. A piece of the knife blade was found inside one of the dogs. After killing his dogs, Ash told police he stabbed himself “a few times,” but Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn called his wounds superficial.SPCA Chief Humane Officer Nikki Thompson said that her agency was not aware of any past contact it has had with Ash.
A review of the court docket in Bucks County shows that Ash has no previous arrests, only traffic citations.
Reporter jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com.
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