Neighbors upset after they say dog starved to death in DeKalb County

DeKalb County, Ga. — A dog's death is under investigation and the animal's owner could face charges. 
 
Neighbors alerted Channel 2 Action News to the animal's death and we called DeKalb County leaders. 
 
Investigators found the dog in a crate in a backyard on Arkose Drive. 
 
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told Channel 2 that the dog's owner was not feeding the dog or giving it water, so he and his wife did. 
 
"You think about that and you know it was wrong. Anybody could see that, because everything wants to live nothing wants to die," the man said. 
 
That same man said he noticed a foul smell coming from the backyard where the dog lived. 
 
"I knew the dog was dead," he added. 
 
DeKalb officials sent the dog to Athens, where University of Georgia leaders will determine a cause of death.
 
A county spokesperson said the investigation will determine whether the dog's owner could face an animal cruelty charge.
 
Channel 2's Erica Byfield knocked on the door of the home, but no one answered.

"He might have died from heat exhaustion or starvation, I don't know but he's gone. I wanted my own dog and to see one die like this, I could have had him," neighbor Coletta Cheeley said.
 
The dog's death investigation could take an estimated two months.

WSBTV