Man charged after St. Bernard abandoned

north lima

A Struthers man is charged with abandoning animals, accused of leaving his St. Bernard tied to a trash bin at Angels for Animals shelter.

Jeffrey M. Franceschelli, 36, of West Omar Street, turned himself in Friday to Beaver Township police. He was booked on the misdemeanor charge and released.

Franceschelli is accused of leaving his dog at the shelter Tuesday night. When a volunteer approached the dog the next morning, the 150-to- 200-pound animal knocked him to the ground and bit him.

A court date hasn’t been set.

Earlier Tuesday, a neighbor of Franceschelli reported being bitten by the dog in Struthers.

The 48-year-old man told police he had borrowed a lawn mower from Franceschelli, who lives next door. When he returned the mower, he saw that the dog, which was chained to the front porch of Franceschelli’s house, was tangled in the bushes.

He tried to free the dog and the dog lunged at him and bit him in the groin and the upper thigh.

Struthers police told Franceschelli to keep the dog inside his home in case other tests were needed.