Man charged with animal cruelty after dogs found ‘frozen to death’ in Beech Grove

BEECH GROVE, Ind. – A Beech Grove man is charged with animal cruelty after two dogs were found dead in January.

Thomas Neuner faces a misdemeanor count of cruelty to an animal, according to court records. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed the case this week.

On Jan. 16, a Beech Grove police officer was dispatched to a home on Byland Drive after a neighbor called to report the deaths of two dogs that had “allegedly frozen to death.”

The officer found two dogs—Colton, a 5-year-old Feist, and Lady, a 12-year-old Beagle—dead. Lady was lying on the concrete covered in snow while Colton was inside the kennel, and it appeared another animal had chewed on his hindquarters, according to court documents.

The officer also found a water dish containing frozen water and a bowl with dog food inside. The officer saw power cords to heat the doghouse and water bowl, although neither was connected.

Neuner was the homeowner, police said, and arrived at the location about 30 minutes after being contacted. He told police he’d last seen the dogs about three weeks ago. He’d been keeping them inside his house but put them in the kennel because he had to run an errand.

He said he returned a half hour later and discovered both dogs were missing, having slipped through a hole in the kennel. He claimed someone must have found the dogs, brought them back and placed them in the kennel.

The unknown individual, Neuner said, must have also put out the water and food bowls because, as “he advised several times,” the items didn’t belong to him.

Neuner claimed he saw Lady lying on the concrete on Jan. 15 and realized she was dead. He didn’t report it because he was distraught and spent the night at his parents’ house.

When asked how someone could’ve known to bring the dogs back to the property, Neuner couldn’t offer an explanation. He then suggested that perhaps someone may have used a microchip reader (both dogs were chipped) to find the information and return them.

Police interviewed the neighbor who made the original call. He said his juvenile stepsister found the dogs dead. The neighbor claimed Neuner never took the dogs inside and realized he hadn’t seen or heard from the dogs for “a few weeks,” according to court documents.

The neighbor said the dogs’ disappearance had “been bothering him for a few days,” so he decided to call the police.

A lab at Purdue University conducted necropsies on the dogs. The report found Colton and Lady both died from emaciation.