 Ring in the new year with amazing savings from Appalachian Wireless. Get the Galaxy S7 for just $49.99 when you sign a renew a two-year service agreement. Better service, bigger savings. That's today's Appalachian Wireless. 65-year-old Donnie Ratliff of Ratliff Branch at Weizberg was arrested December 9th. He's charged with torturing this dog, Lucky, to death. According to an indictment handed down last week by Letcher County Grand Jury, Ratliff tortured Lucky, causing his death. The investigation into the incident began after the Letcher County Sheriff's Office received a tip of some small dogs left out in the elements. There was also one dog particular that was supposed to be there. It's name was Lucky and it belonged to Maria Snell. Deputy Alicia Congleton said Lucky had been awarded a Snell in her divorce case with Donnie Ratliff's son. When Congleton began inquiring about Lucky's whereabouts, Ratliff allegedly told the deputy that Lucky was dead and he allegedly became angry and uncooperative and assaulted the deputy. Ratliff was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty and third degree assault of a police officer. Deputy Congleton said she went to the location where Ratliff claimed to have disposed of Lucky's body and she found his body at that location. The deputy employed the help of God's Creatures Animal Clinic at Partridge to perform a post-mortem exam on Lucky and to find out exactly what killed him. An autopsy. An autopsy revealed that the dog had died from apparent blunt force trauma. The autopsy report suggests that the dog was tortured, that his paw prints on the bottom of its feet were gone, like it had been dragged. It had several broken ribs, internal bleeding and bruising and a punctured lung. Although Ratliff was originally charged with cruelty to animals, the Letcher Grand Jury instead indicted him on a charge of torture of a dog or cat. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Congleton hopes this case will serve as an example of a needed change in Letcher County and across the region. We don't have the means of going and removing animals, but if somebody has committed a crime against an animal, we will most certainly go and investigate it and if charges need to be filed. File those charges. I guess Thomas County as a home takes a stand for protected animals because they're innocent, they don't have a voice and somebody needs to stand up and be a voice for them. Deputy Congleton said anyone wishing to report animal cruelty or any other suspected animal related crime should contact the Letcher County Sheriff's Office at 633-2293. That call, she said, could save the life of a dog like Lucky. Reporting in Weizberg for EKB News, I'm Chris Anderson.