A Vinita man was seen in Washington County Court today after bonding out on charges of Cruelty to animals. Jason Ray Jones was arrested back in June of 2022 after a call was made on a possible animal cruelty incident. According to an affidavit, an officer arrived to the house and found a dog in a shed on a red chain that was tied to a stake in the ground.

When the officer approached it, he could see that the dog was covered in maggots and appeared to not have any skin on its body and no bones were visible. Officers asked Jones when he recently saw the dog alive, and he answered by saying Sunday the dog was alive, but when he checked on it on Monday, he saw it was deceased.

The dog’s water bowl was filled with brown colored water with leaves and dirt inside of it. The food bowl consisted of food that was stale and hard. Officers could not determine how long the animal had been deceased. His next court date is set for March 3^rd at 9 am