Starved Dog Found Dead Inside Cage, Couple Charged With Animal Cruelty

An Indiana couple was arrested and charged for allegedly starving their pet dog to death, local media reported Tuesday. Michael and Amanda Sester were both charged with cruelty to an animal.

The husband and wife both moved out of their trailer home in Greenwood in Johnson County after they got divorced and left behind their dog without food and water, court documents revealed. The dog was found by Johnson County Animal Control inside the home after an anonymous caller tipped them off. Investigators reportedly found the dog dead inside a cage with no water or food.

Investigators questioned Amanda who said the dog was healthy when she moved out in early January. After she left the home, Michael also decided to leave the trailer home in Greenwood, according to court documents. Amanda told investigators she went back once after leaving the home to get her belongings, but didn't spend time with the dog.

According to court documents, Amanda admitted her estranged husband called her numerous times telling her to come and get the dog as he was not going to take care of the animal. Investigators said Michael refused to talk to them until he contacted an attorney.

The former neighbors of the Sesters expressed their anger over the incident and said they couldn't understand how anyone could leave their pet behind to die.

"I'm an animal lover and I've always had dogs," Billy Dorris told NBC-affiliated television station WTHR.

In March, a North Carolina man was arrested on charges of animal cruelty after two dogs were found dead on his property. Local media reported at the time that a utility worker, who had gone to the property in Lincoln County, saw one of the dogs dead in a kennel. The worker informed the animal services who reached the scene and found the bodies of the two dogs. The officers did not find food or water near either of the kennels. Donald Anthony Armand, 26, was charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty.

In February, a Nebraska man was arrested after he was accused of starving two pit bull dogs to death. Shane T. Palmer, 43, was taken into custody for animal neglect and cruelty. "The investigation shows that the two pit bulls owned by this suspect were starved to death, and then discarded like trash. It's absolutely uncalled for," Mark Langan, vice president of field operations for Nebraska Humane Society, said at the time.