Dog killed, puppy emaciated after being abandoned in Wake County park, warrants say

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A man faces criminal charges related to abandoning and abusing two dogs, one of which died, according to a Wake County search warrant.

Rashawn Dennison, 29, is accused of ditching two dogs in a box behind Green Road Park, one of which was found to be starved to death and the other extremely emaciated.

The warrant reads that an adult female pit bull mix starved to death, while a pit bull puppy was found emaciated but alive.

The 911 caller who reported the box said they noticed it only when their dog started sniffing it.

"Every morning I walk my little poodle the same route every day around the corner. I actually live around the corner from here," the caller said. "When I was passing I seen some trash over there but that's regular we see that. And I seen a box and I didn't think nothing of it until my dog went over there and started barking and sniffing by it. And I heard little like, I heard little sounds."

Dennison, a previous offender, has been charged with 3 misdemeanors--cruelty to animals and two counts abandonment of an animal.

Dennison had his first court appearance Thursday morning. He told ABC11 he is trying to get an attorney and currently has no comment on the incident.