Framingham man charged with killing dog, leaving it in dumpster

Posted: Jan 07, 2013 7:05 PM PST Updated: Jan 07, 2013 7:06 PM PST

FRAMINGHAM (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) – A 27-year-old Framingham man was arraigned on animal abuse charges after he reportedly killed his dog and disposed of it in a dumpster.

Douglas Coelho was arrested Friday on a charge of animal cruelty. A judge ordered Coelho held on $20,000 cash bail on the condition that he has no contact with domesticated animals.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has also been lodged against Coelho.

Police said Coelho admitted to killing his dog, a black mixed-breed who weighed just over 7 pounds. Coelho said that sometime between Christmas and New Year's the dog urinated on him and his bed, so he hit the dog sending it flying into a wall. The next day the dog had a bump on his head and was bleeding from the mouth, reports the MetroWest Daily News.

Coelho also tied the dog's legs at night so it couldn't jump on the bed. He gave the dog pain medication, but that didn't work so he tied the dog up and put it in a dresser overnight. Coelho woke up the next morning, and the dog was dead, reports the newspaper.

According to authorities, police responded to a dumpster behind an apartment complex located at 126 Beaver Street around 12:16 p.m. on Jan. 4. Inside the dumpster, they found a deceased dog lying on top of a plastic pet carrying case.

Upon further investigation, Coelho was arrested and charged.

Coelho is due back in court on Feb. 7 for a pretrial conference.

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