New York Man Strangles Chihuahua To Death During FaceTime Call With Relative

A New York man has been charged after he allegedly killed a pet dog during a FaceTime call with a relative.

The 23-year-old accused, from Brentwood, California, was at a Long Island home on June 1 when he strangled the canine to death. He also threatened the relative during the video phone call, Suffolk County Police Department informed Saturday, NBC New York reported.

The suspect's identity was not released as he was undergoing a mental health evaluation at Stony Brook Hospital, New York Daily News reported. The age and sex of the pup were also not revealed.

Police said the man found the Chihuahua pup on May 9 after it escaped from its owner's home in Central Islip. The man kept the canine with him for nearly one month. He was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and aggravated harassment after officers found the dog's body at a waste facility in Halbrook, the NBC New York report said.

The remains of the canine will be sent for a necropsy. The suspect will be produced in court after his psychiatric exam.

Last month, a Pennsylvania PetSmart store employee was charged with animal cruelty after he strangled a poodle to death during a grooming session. The incident happened in November last year after the owner of the 12-year-old dog left it at the store to get its nails trimmed.

When the owner returned after 10 minutes to collect the pup, she found it was lying unresponsive. The accused told her the pooch passed out and went limp. She rushed the dog to a hospital but veterinarians couldn't resuscitate it. Surveillance footage showed that the dog was tied to the end of the grooming table and was struggling to breathe as the employee kept cutting its nails.