Alleged animal abuser now faces felony animal abuse charge

TAZEWELL COUNTY, Va. (WVVA) - Eric Rose was originally charged with a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty after police say he was captured on video abusing his dog, Charlie. Now Rose is facing a felony animal cruelty charge resulting in death.

The announcement from Tazewell County’s top prosecutor comes after a necropsy of dog remains found near Rose’s home. It confirmed they belonged to Charlie.

“We take this very seriously as we take all of our cases, especially anything that is violent. So obviously we’re going to make sure we do the best that we can to make sure this case is prosecuted properly,” said Tazewell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Plaster.

Plaster says Rose was arrested this week in Tennessee and is currently in the process of being brought back to the commonwealth. Rose’s charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.

“We want everyone to understand that this is unacceptable, completely unacceptable. This type of cruel behavior speaks of an evil heart. That’s certainly not the sort of thing that we will tolerate. Especially here in Tazewell County,” said Plaster.

Plaster says he encourages anyone who is a witness to animal cruelty to speak out so that the proper action can be taken.

“Anytime that you see an animal being abused or especially another human being being abused or harmed in anyway. It’s always the right thing to come forward and report that to law enforcement,” said Plaster

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