A Georgia man is charged with animal cruelty after the death of a dog that police said was made to ride in the rear of a moving truck.

Authorities said 50-year-old Jerry Mason of Savannah was arrested Monday in Cartersville.

Channel 2 Action News reported that Mason told police he was heading to Kentucky in a U-Haul truck when his dog became unruly while riding with him in the truck's cab, so he put the animal in the back with household items.

Police arrived to find a concerned citizen pouring water over the dog beside the truck. The animal, which Mason said had spent an hour in the back of the truck, died at a veterinary office where it was treated for possible heat stroke.

Mason was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, authorities said. The man didn't immediately return a message left Tuesday on a phone listed in his name.

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