NEW BRITIAN, Conn. (WTIC) – New Britain Police have made an Animal Cruelty arrest stemming from an incident in April.
Christopher Vantull was arrested on July 12th after an investigation into an incident that occurred on April 12th.
Officers were dispatched to 37 Bassett Street for a verbal domestic involving Vantull, who was the owner of a pitbull named “socks”. Another tenant at the address was reportedly upset Vantuall was allowing the dog to defecate inside the residence – no action was taken at the time, however, officers noted the dog cowered when Vantull came near him.
Four days later, Animal Control Officers followed up on the case and discovered Vantull had relinquished “Socks” to a rescue group in New Haven. The rescue group noted the dog was turned over with some visible injuries.
Expressing concern for the dog’s well-being, the group scheduled an appointment with a veterinarian, who concluded that “Socks” had multiple fractures consistent with blunt force trauma.
Authorities questioned Vantull about the injuries, who claimed he struck the dog once by accident and then another time when disciplining the animal. However, two separate vets confirmed the injuries were consistent with abuse.
Vantull was held on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 25th.
