PITTSBURGH -- Police charged a man with animal cruelty after he confessed to feeding two dogs meatballs that were mixed with nails and broken glass.

On Sunday morning, Deborah Rogers woke up to learn that her dogs, Shadow and Pepper, were not feeling well.

"I took a stick and shoved [the meat] and seen something shiny, and I saw there was glass in there and a bunch of little nails in there, and my dogs had ate some of it," said Rogers.

On Friday, Brett Kolarik, 41, of the North Side, confessed to feeding the materials to the dogs, police said.

Frustrated by what he considered to be nuisance barking, Kolarik allegedly fed the meatballs to the dogs, police said.

Rogers rushed the animals to an emergency clinic where Dr. Kenton Rexford confirmed through X-rays that both dogs did indeed ingest nails and glass.

The doctor said, "We elected as our first step to try to induce vomiting. There is some risk to that because there could be some risk to the esophagus will be damaged as that material comes out."

However, both pets required life-saving surgery to remove the glass and nails.

The Animal Care and Assistance Fund has offered to help raise the necessary funds for the dogs' surgeries. Those who wish to make donations to the ACAF can call 412-348-2588.