OKC Man Accused Of Dragging Sack Of Puppies Alongside Van

An Oklahoma City man is facing seven counts of Animal Cruelty after allegedly dragging a garbage bag full of puppies alongside his van near downtown last week.

Police arrested 41-year-old Jeremy Ellis for the alleged incident, that occurred on Sunday, April 10.

According to the police report, Oklahoma City Animal Welfare was made aware of the injured puppies found discarded in a garbage bag near NW 7th and Western Ave. Witnesses told police they saw a gray Dodge van dragging the bag on the passenger side and that the bag was making contact with the road.

The witnesses told police they could hear the animals inside of the bag, whining as the van drove past. The witnesses said that the van then took a left turn, but first stopped and let the bag fall to the ground. As the van completed the turn its rear wheels rolled over the trash bag.

One witness chased after the van and was able to get a partial tag number and description of the driver. After checking the garbage bag the witnesses discovered seven Chihuahua puppies. Animal welfare workers soon arrived and took the puppies to a local veterinary hospital.

Also inside of the garbage bag police discovered a pawn ticket with Ellis' name on it and a receipt to a Dollar Tree store near his house.

Animal welfare officers were soon contacted by Ellis' girlfriend, who said she owned the puppies. She told the officers that she was out of town on the day of the alleged incident, but said Ellis texted her at 4 a.m. saying he "got rid of the dogs because they were making a mess of the house".

She said he told her he took them to Animal Welfare, but she got concerned when she found a puppy in the trash. The condition of that dog was not released.

Animal welfare officers attempted to locate Ellis at the home. They say they saw the van described in the crime sitting in the driveway and that the witness's partial tag description was a match. No one answered the door at the time.

Ellis was eventually arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on seven counts of Animal Cruelty. He has since bonded out.

Due to their injuries, two of the puppies had to be euthanized. The other five were placed in emergency foster care.