Police: Man said ‘witches’ told him to throw his dog off a bridge

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. — A man was charged with animal cruelty after officials said he was seen throwing a dog off a bridge.

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Spartanburg County Environmental Enforcement officers were called after a witness reported seeing the animal thrown from a bridge, officials said in a news release.

Officers arrived on site and talked to a witness who said they saw the man “tossing a dog off and over the bridge.” When they began searching the area, officers said they found the suspect holding a dog in a chokehold.

The suspect, identified as Shannon Lee Cantrell, 43, allegedly told police that he owned the dog and had thrown it twice from the bridge after “witches” told him to do so.

The distance the dog was thrown measures 34 feet from the bridge to the ground, investigators told WSPA.

Officials said the dog, which they described as a “male, brown-and-white pitbull-type canine,” is one year old and did not show any visible signs of injury. Officers described the dog as “clearly shaken by the incident” and took it to Greenville County Animal Care to be assessed.

Cantrell was taken to the Spartanburg County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond, WHNS reported.

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