By Joe Johnson
An Athens man was arrested Wednesday for shooting his three dogs, an Athens-Clarke County police official said.
George Hampton Arnold, 64, was charged with three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
According to Lt. Shaun Barnett, ACCPD’s public information officer, officers responded at about 10:50 a.m. to a residence in the 100 block of Gretchen Lane in reference to a call about someone shooting a dog. The call was made by a neighbor of Arnold’s who reported that Arnold had shot his own dog.
“Investigation indicates that Arnold was taking water and food to his dogs in the back yard when one of the dogs got loose and bit him on the ankle,” Barnett said. “Arnold then went to his vehicle, retrieved his gun, and began shooting at the dog that had bit him.
“As a result, the dog that bit him was struck three times and two other dogs that were present were struck one time each.”
The county Department of Animal Services took custody of the dogs, all of which were alive at the time an incident report was filed, Barnett said.