By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Ryan Lee Cook

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested after allegedly slamming a dog to the ground.

Ryan Lee Cook, 31, 765 S. Waxwing Lane, Warsaw, is charged with cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor.

On Aug. 23, 2021, a woman reported having video footage of Cook slamming a dog to the ground. She also reported Cook leaving two dogs in cages for long periods of time. A second individual also reported Cook placing padlocks on the dogs’ cages so that no one but him can let the dogs out.

According to court documents, in the video footage, Cook is shown talking to a small dog with his face very close to the dog’s face. He threatened the dog and spoke to him like it was a human while holding the dog down with his hand around its neck. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy who investigated the incident described it as “abusive and a very bizarre and improper way to train a dog.”

The two dogs were left in a cage for 36 hours between Aug. 30, 2021 and Aug. 31, 2021. On Sept. 11, 2021, the individual called KCSO to report the dogs being locked in a cage for 50 hours.

Photos provided to KCSO show empty food and water bowls in the cage, with urine and feces covering the floor.

Cook was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on March 6, 2023.