NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A 40-year-old Bucks County man is facing multiple aggravated cruelty to animals charges after he stabbed two family dogs to death inside his Newtown Township home, authorities said.
George Gooch Ash, of Essex Place in Newtown Township, was charged on Jan. 22 with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. He will be arraigned at a later time.
“To say the defendant’s actions were inhumane is an understatement,” District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a Wednesday news conference. “They were sadistic. I commend the outstanding work done by the Newtown Township Police Department and the Bucks County SPCA, and I can assure you that this case will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
The Newtown Township Police Department launched an investigation on Jan. 18, after officers were dispatched at 5:29 p.m. to Essex Place on a 911 call from Ash.
Ash told 911 dispatchers that he became angry after visiting his mother at a nursing home earlier in the day and took it out on the dogs, stabbing them to death with kitchen knives, according to a criminal complaint. He told dispatchers he also stabbed himself a few times.
The dogs that were killed were a 7-year-old male Beagle-Lab mix named Blake and a 9-year-old female Beagle-Collie mix named Shyla. (Bucks County District Attorney’s Office)
Police arrived and spoke with Ash as he was leaving the home. Ash, who was wearing blood-stained clothing, was detained by the officers and taken to the hospital for medical treatment. No one else was inside.
Through the investigation, police learned that Ash began abusing the dogs earlier in the day by kicking and hitting them. He then stabbed both dogs until they were deceased, police said.
Police executed a search warrant and processed the scene. Police observed bloodstains throughout the first floor of the home and several areas of blood pooling on the first floor, including inside of a dog bed.
Near the kitchen, police located two deceased dogs – a 7-year-old Bagle-Lab mix and a 9-year-old female Beagle Collie mix – lying next to each other. Both dogs had slashing and puncture-type injuries to their torso, authorities said.
“Since our founding in 1912, the Bucks County SPCA has worked tirelessly to obtain justice for animals who have suffered acts of cruelty by people who were supposed to care for those animals,” said Linda Reider, Executive Director of the Bucks County SPCA. “Our mission will always be to end animal suffering in Bucks County. To that end, we are working with Newtown Township Police and the Bucks County District Attorney to gain justice for Shyla and Blake, two beagles who were tragically and horrifically killed by someone they knew well.”
“We will dedicate our resources to this investigation to ensure that George Ash is convicted fairly and justly,” said Reider.
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