A Morristown couple is facing animal cruelty charges after police arrived to find a dog badly hurt in a garbage bag.
According to the Morristown-Hamblen Humane Society, veterinarians are treating a Chihuahua they had received from animal control officers.
The Morristown Police Department said officers transferred the dog to the Southern Care Veterinary Hospital after they responded to a call to a mobile home at 3565 Elwood Drive on June 7.
According to police, 35-year-old Joshua Coffey called saying his wife, 26-year-old Melissa Coffey, had killed their dog.
When officers arrived, though, they found the dog still breathing inside a trash bag.
The husband told police that his wife told him the day before that she was going to take the dog to an animal shelter, but on the afternoon of June 7 the husband said she called to let him know that the dog was dead in the back of the mobile home.
Officers said the bag was partially opened to let the dog breath since it was still alive.
Both the husband and wife were arrested and face animal cruelty charges after an investigation revealed the dog had been subject to previous injury and deprived of medical care.
The Morristown-Hamblen Humane Society said it can't discuss the dog's condition due to it being an ongoing criminal case. It said the dog is safe, though, and under veterinary care to receive treatment to improve its health.