Owner of North Carolina rescue arrested for animal cruelty

PINK HILL, N.C. (WNCT) — Deputies with the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man early Wednesday morning on nine counts of animal cruelty.

Pink Hill resident Matthew Neal was arrested at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning for cruelty towards animals. Neal owned a local animal training business named East Carolina Retrievers. Eleven dogs were rescued from the facility during Neal’s arrest.

Neal was charged with nine counts of felony cruelty towards animals. He was given a $45,000 secured bond in Lenoir County and a $2,000 secured bond in Duplin County.

”We confiscated the 11 dogs on the property,” Sheriff Rogers said. “They will be housed in a safe location this morning.”

The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Lenoir County Animal Control unit, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Unit and Duplin County Animal Control.

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