HENDRICKS COUNTY, Ind. — A man was arrested and is facing an animal cruelty charge after being accused of tying a dog to his ex-girlfriend’s car with a heavy steel chain.

Collin Rushton is charged with one count of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor.

On Oct. 31, a Plainfield police officer was dispatched to a motel around 8:15 p.m. to investigate after a dog was left chained to the wheel of a red Monte Carlo in the parking lot.

According to court documents, the motel manager told the officer that they knew the owner of the car. The officer was directed to a room and was able to talk to a woman who said that she was unaware a dog was chained to her car.

The court documents revealed that the dog appeared malnourished and hungry, had sore skin around his neck from the chain and was shivering from the cold. The officer freed the dog from the chain, and employees brought out some blankets to keep him warm.

The officer viewed surveillance video and observed a white 1995 Ford F-350 pull up to the north side of the parking lot. The officer believed he recognized the truck and the driver from a traffic stop two weeks earlier.

The video showed a man, believed to be Rushton, exiting the truck with the dog and tying it to the car’s wheel using a heavy gauge steel chain as a leash.

During the investigation, the officer learned Rushton was the ex-boyfriend of the woman at the motel. She told police Rushton has been repeatedly harassing her and her current boyfriend. The woman said she was familiar with the dog, who she said was from her old residence in Indianapolis.

The woman believed Rushton brought the dog from the home and left him at the motel as another means of harassment. The dog had been left out in the cold for about three hours, according to court documents. Animal control took custody of the dog so he’d have a safe place to sleep.

Later that night, the officer located Rushton sleeping in a truck. Rushton told the officer that he did not know what else to do with the dog and admitted that he tied him up to the car at the motel.

According to case records, Rushton has a bench trial scheduled for Nov. 30.