RAVEN, Va. (WVVA) – Eric Rose was charged with animal cruelty on Monday after Virginia State Police say he violently abused his dog at his ex-girlfriend’s home in Cedar Bluff. She shared her account yesterday and now Rose says there’s more to the story than what is seen in the video. He says he was just trying to cool the dog off on a hot day.
“I didn’t think it would be an issue getting him in the pool. I figured I would just have to get him to get in it and then he backed up and he ended up biting me. When he bit me I tried to get a hold of him just to get control so he wouldn’t bite me again because when he bit me it shredded the end of my thumb. Like the whole digit of my right thumb I have no feeling in it, it’s all jacked up now,” said Rose.
We asked Rose to verify the injury with a photo of his thumb. He said he would email the picture but we never received it. Rose claims this is the first time he’s ever been bitten by a dog, adding what we see in the video is him defending himself from another bite. He says he was trying to restrain the dog, not hurt it.
“As soon as he bit me, first thing I was worried about was him biting me again. So I was trying to just wrap his body up and hold his head to get him to calm down to be sure he didn’t bite me again. Then his head went at me again and he went at my hand again and that was when like well maybe if I can just cause if you look at the video I didn’t even full swing on the dog,” said Rose.
Rose says he did not kill Charlie, the dog in the video. He says he took him down the street from his house and let Charlie run free. Down the street from Rose’s house on Friday evening, his ex-girlfriend and police discovered the likely remains of Charlie, minutes after we wrapped up our telephone interview with Rose.
State police and the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department were on an active crime scene on Friday. Near a wooded area they found what is believed to be a dog carcass. It is feared to be Charlie from our coverage of the alleged abuse on Thursday. It’s unclear how Charlie’s carcass got in this area but state police and the sheriff’s department have said that it’s most likely Charlie’s remains.
Police said they are sending the dog carcass off for a necropsy to confirm it is Charlie. Shortly after the discovery of the dog we called Rose back to get his reaction.
“I have no clue, I know nothing about it. It’s news to me,” said Rose. Rose maintains he did not kill charlie. WVVA asked Rose if he had any idea how the dog got to where it was found. Rose’s response was “No, not up here. I mean if anything he should’ve been down that way.”
Shortly after we ended our call with Rose, he showed up where the carcass was discovered and spoke with police. He appears to break down at the discovery and eventually leaves the scene, followed by state police.
It’s unclear at this time if Rose faces additional charges. Right now, we know he’s been charged with animal cruelty. We’ll continue to follow developments in the case.
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