Rock Hill man charged after chained dog dead, 2nd dog starving, deputies say

A Rock Hill man was arrested Wednesday morning after deputies said officers found one of his chained dogs dead and another sick, starving and abandoned.

Micah Jawayne Cunningham, 28, is charged with two counts of ill treatment of animals, said Trent Faris, spokesman for York County Sheriff’s Office. Cunningham was located Tuesday by deputies and taken into custody, then served the two outstanding arrest warrants, Faris said.

The dogs were found in March after a person walking near Lesslie Highway, southeast of Rock Hill, saw two dogs that appeared to be abandoned, according to a sheriff’s office report.

Deputies found one dog believed to be a pit bull mix tied to a pole with a metal chain around its neck, the report stated. The dog had no shelter, water or food, deputies said.

“The dog appeared to be sick and starving due to it being very skinny and its ribs showing,” the report stated.

A second dog, tied to a tree by a chain around its neck, was found dead, the report said.

The surviving dog was seized by York County Animal Control in March, then a necropsy report on the deceased dog was done, deputies said.