Staff Report

Ethan Michael Sprague

SYRACUSE — A Mentone man was arrested for allegedly abusing a dog.

Ethan Michael Sprague, 20, 301 E. Main St., Mentone, is charged with torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, a level 6 felony.

On July 1, Syracuse Police officers responded to a domestic complaint at a residence. Sprague was at the residence and told police a man pushed him into a wall.

According to court documents, during the conversation, Sprague said a dog at the home bit him all the time and he would “bend its leg to make it feel pain.”

Officers spoke with the man, who said Sprague’s behavior was “very concerning.” He told law enforcement he reviewed surveillance video from inside the home and saw Sprague abusing the dog.

Video footage from June 16 showed Sprague pacing around the residence, picking up the dog by its collar, and throwing it against a wall. Footage also showed Sprague following the dog into the kitchen, with the dog letting out a loud yelp and running back into the camera’s view with a limp.

Footage from June 30 showed Sprague holding the dog and hitting its head about six times. He then lifted the dog up, grabbing and forcefully bending its leg.

Sprague was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on July 1.