Clayton man alleges brother poisoned his dog

CLAYTON — The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) responded to a call on Monday where a Clayton resident claimed his brother had poisoned his beloved dog.

The allegation originated from when Carl Edward Neely, 76-years-old, told local law enforcement that for a period of time he had lived with his brother, Crawford Neely, and had brought his English Red Tick dog along with him as well.

Sometime later, Carl moved out for personal reasons and moved in with his son at 217 Clois Road but had left his dog behind at his brother’s residence.

According to Carl, Crawford began making verbal threats claiming, if Carl would not come retrieve his dog and remove it from his property, that he was going to kill it.

Upon hearing this, Carl promptly picked up his dog Sunday, Jan. 28 and immediately noticed it was not breathing right.

He told the reporting officer upon arrival at his residence that the dog continued to have more problems breathing and said he noticed the dog laying on its right side with foam coming out of its mouth and nose.

The officer called Rabun County Animal Service (RCAS) who declared the dog deceased and removed the body to further assess the cause of death.

As of Friday, Feb. 2, WRBN/WGHC has contacted RCSO and RCAS for comment on the status of the case and if any animal cruelty charges are being sought.