An Ohio man has been arrested on animal cruelty charges after a puppy was found “tied up” in a drawstring bag at a local park in April.

Harold Dean Lilly of Middletown was charged with second-degree misdemeanors — cruelty to a companion animal and abandoning animals — on Friday, May 3, per a Facebook post from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

His arrest comes more than a week after a puppy was found “tied up in a bag and abandoned” on April 24 at 700 Joe Nuxhall Boulevard in Hamilton, the office said in the post.

The Butler County dog wardens then took the dog to the local Animal Friends Humane Society, which updated its Facebook followers about the pup’s plight soon after he was discovered.

As the organization shared, the 2- to 3-month-old dog was located in a “closed drawstring bag” in a Hamilton park, and they have since begun referring to the animal as Ryder.

“Yesterday on intake, he was not acting like a normal puppy. He was lethargic and weak. While we accounted for his traumatic experience, we also had to rule out sicknesses. He tested negative for parvo and was vaccinated and dewormed. We then let him rest and regain his strength and stability, under the watchful eye of our medical team,” Animal Friends wrote of Ryder on Facebook.

“Today, Ryder was alert, curious and ready to eat! We appreciate everyone’s support for the little guy already and we hope to update with every step of Ryder’s journey,” the organization continued.

After the puppy was discovered in L.J. Smith Park last month, Sheriff Richard K. Jones went live on Facebook with dog warden Elizabeth Burkett and they revealed that the bag Ryder was found in was “drawn tight” so that the puppy would “not get out of the sack.”

“I assume somebody put it out there to die and be done with the dog,” Jones said.

Burkett added that she was dispatched to the park after an employee there said she “had a very hard time” untying the dog.

“When I arrived on scene the dog looked very defeated, overall seems healthy by appearance, just seems very defeated right now,” she recalled.

On April 27, Animal Friends noted that Ryder was “improving every day” and had been “up moving around his cage, wiggling his little butt and crying for attention” since being found days earlier.

“We have received A LOT of interest in lil Ryder. While we know he is adorable, he is still a part of an ongoing cruelty investigation,” the shelter said at the time, prior to Lilly’s arrest. “The sheriff’s office has received many tips and are following up on them all. We are uncertain when or if he will become available. Ryder’s well being and the investigation come first.”

Per the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Lilly is awaiting his appearance in Hamilton Municipal Court.

OREGON, Ohio (WTVG) – Bird is the word here in Northwest Ohio as people travel from across the country and even the world for the Biggest Week in American Birding festival.

Northwest Ohio contains the warbler capital of the world and birders are flocking to the birding festival to see a large variety of species as they migrate through out area.

Birders say having so many bird enthusiasts in one place feels like one big family reunion.

“It is seeing friends from all over the world,” said Katie Andersen, a birder at the festival. “Once a year this is our big party, big get together and it really carries me throughout the rest of the year.”

Andersen traveled here from Pennsylvania and is a volunteer who guides people on bird walks.

She said she never goes anywhere without her binoculars.

“There are birds no matter where you go,” Andersen said.

The Black Swamp Bird Observatory hosts the birding festival, which features a variety of speakers, vendors, and bird walks from now until May 12.

India Hobbs, a birder from Cleveland said that she loved hearing the keynote about diversifying birding.

She said her one advice for people who haven’t gone birdwatching is to try it out.

“Try it. Definitely if you’re someone who’s not your typical birder … I think it’s a hobby that everyone should enjoy and to learn about not only the beauty of the birds but the conservation as well,” Hobbs said.

Gary Peters is a local to Northwest Ohio. He photographs birds and is an avid member of several birdwatching groups.

“There aren’t a lot of disabled people that I know doing it, let alone leading it,” Peters said.

He started becoming a guide at the Biggest Week in American Birding this year, leading accessible birding walks.

“We want to get as many disabled people as we can,” Peters said.

As the festival continues, the community encourages people to come out.

“There’s a place for everyone in birding,” Andersen said.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Injection wells owned by an Ohio state senator leaked fracking waste deep underground in Noble County before blasting through the surface miles away at an oil well, warranting a $1.3 million cleanup effort.

The state paid to remediate the mess in January 2021, but it hasn’t asked state Sen. Brian Chavez’s Deeprock Disposal Solutions for a dime to cover the costs. Instead, state regulators billed the owners of the idled production well that the brine used as a chimney to reach the surface before contaminating nearby land and water.