A Brechin man has denied animal cruelty charges after a dog was found dead in the Angus countryside.
A Rhodesian ridgeback Rottweiler cross was found tied to a barbed wire fence on the Kinnaird Park Estate near Brechin in March.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, 49-year-old Joseph Rizza pled not guilty to charges of abandoning the dog in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
Mr Rizza was released on bail and will appear again next month.
























