ALCOA, Tenn. — A Maryville man is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals because investigators believe he kicked his mother's small dog off a second-floor balcony.
According to the arrest warrant, a woman staying at the Alcoa Inn called police about a lost dog on Sunday evening.
When the Alcoa police officer arrived, the woman told him that her son, Zachary Matheson, 32, of Maryville, told her that the 9-year-old chihuahua jumped off the balcony when he opened the door.
She also told the officer that she didn't believe her son because he was mad at her for not taking him to the liquor store.
The officer watched video surveillance footage from the motel. In the video, he said he saw Matheson walk into the room then, after a lot of movement, saw the dog flying through the air from inside the room.
The dog hit the poles of the balcony then landed between cars on the ground.
According to the warrant, Matheson claimed he just nudged the dog but "didn't think this would happen."
The officer noted that he believed this was "not a nudge and the dog was kicked."
We don't know the condition of the dog, but the officer noted that "the defendant inflicted serious pain and almost death to this companion animal intentionally."
Matheson has a court date scheduled for Nov. 21.
