Plymouth man charged with abandoning dog in Wilkes-Barre

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WILKES-BARRE — A Plymouth man is facing felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after he allegedly abandoned a dog in Wilkes-Barre.

Dennis W. Meekins, 41, last known address as Willow Street, was identified by multiple surveillance cameras as the man who left a dog caged inside a kennel on a sidewalk in front of a house on Loomis Street on July 12, according to court records.

Police did not identify the type of dog Meekins allegedly discarded.

A resident of Loomis Street noticed the overheated dog panting in the kennel and contacted police, court records say.

The dog was taken to the SPCA of Luzerne County where staff used wet towels to cool the canine.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police investigating the dog abandonment received information that a man driving a silver Lexus arrived at the SPCA seeking to surrender a dog because he was being evicted on July 12. The man left without producing the dog at the SPCA.

Surveillance cameras in the area of Loomis and Moyallen streets in Wilkes-Barre recorded a silver vehicle and a man disposing a dog in a kennel on the sidewalk before driving away on July 12, the complaint says.

When police traced the license plate of the silver Lexus registered to Meekins, the complaint says, they went to his residence in Plymouth where they found items placed at the curb indicating the residence had been vacated.

Police in the complaint verified with additional video footage that Meekins was responsible with abandoning the dog on Loomis Street.

Meekins is facing two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and neglect of animals and a summary offense of neglect of animals.

The charges were filed with District Judge Rick Cronauer in Wilkes-Barre.